03061nam a2200241 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001910000200006024501620008026002480024250000280049052021080051865000200262665300200264665300260266670000220269270000180271470000190273270000170275170000180276870000180278670000150280421594922023-12-12       2023    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d1 aGONZALES, M. J.  aBrazilian consumers' understanding of food processing levelbhow the healthy, industrialized, and ultra-processed foods are perceived?h[electronic resource]  aIn: SIMPÓSIO LATINO AMERICANO DE CIÊNCIA DE ALIMENTOS E NUTRIÇÃO, 15., 2023, Campinas. A revolução da ciência de alimentos e nutrição: alimentando o mundo de forma sustentável: caderno [eletrônico] de resumos. Campinas: Galoác2023  aPôster 168499; SLACAN.  aFood processing includes a series of operations that transform raw materials into new products, ensuring the preservation and allowing safety to the consumer. The NOVA classification system includes the category named ultra-processed foods, which seems to be unfamiliar to Brazilians. This study aimed to explore the perception of Brazilians about food processing level, including their views on healthy food. 513 participants were recruited and took part in an online study through a word association task. They were invited to write down the first four words that came to mind when they thought of healthy, industrialized, and ultra-processed foods (UPF). They also answered socio-demographic questions. The terms with the same meaning were grouped into categories using inductive triangulation coding. A consensus between three researchers was achieved through open discussion. Statistical differences were assessed using X2 tests. A total of 6,138 associations were mentioned by participants and grouped into 50 categories. The most mentioned categories when participants thought of Healthy Foods were legumes and vegetables (61%), fruits with (47%), health (43%). For Industrialized they mentioned commercial brands (30%), convenience (25%) and bad to the health (22%). UPF comprised meat products (55%), bad to the health (26%), commercial brands (23%), and negative associations (23%). Industrialized and UPF had a more negative perception (p&lt0.05), being considered harmful to health, differently of the healthy food, which had positive mentions. Participant's level of education had a significant effect when making the associations and, the higher education, the greater the positive association with healthy foods, and the negative association with industrialized and ultra-processed foods. Results suggest that there was a misunderstanding between the meaning of industrialized and ultra-processed foods among participants. Communication strategies are recommended to inform the population about the difference between them aiming at allowing conscious food choices by Brazilian consumers.  aFood processing  aFood perception  aUltra-processed foods1 aMARTINS, I. B. A.1 aALCANTARA, M.1 aALMEIDA, M. DE1 aASSIS, R. DE1 aSANTOS, G. N.1 aROSENTHAL, A.1 aDELIZA, R.