Consumer purchase behaviour of foods with added phytosterols in six European countries: Data from a post-launch monitoring survey

摘要

Abstract A variety of foods with added phytosterols (plant sterols and stanols, PS) known to lower elevated blood cholesterol is available on the European market. This paper reports findings from a 2015 post-launch monitoring survey on consumer purchase behaviour of foods with added PS in UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Greece. Data from 80,825 households were included. Households were divided into categories depending on number of purchases, household size, age of primary shopper and presence of children Highlights ? Consumer purchase behaviour of foods with added phytosterols was studied in six European countries. ? Phytosterols were mainly purchased by 1–2 person households, with a household head ≥35 years and without children ? Median phytosterol intakes ranged from 0.11 to 0.30?g/d in all purchasers and from 0.91 to 1.44?g/d in regular purchasers. ? Phytosterol intakes are overall below intakes recommended for a meaningful LDL-cholesterol-lowering effect (1.5–3.0?g/d).