Abstract: Context: Rapid technological advances in the food sector have increased the perceived importance of naturalness in food products, shaping consumer preferences toward minimally processed foods. Naturalness functions as a heuristic that simplifies decision-making processes, whereby foods perceived as natural are readily considered healthier, safer, and more authentic. Although several instruments have been proposed, the New Naturalness Scale developed by Michel and Siegrist (2019) represents a promising measure; however, evidence of its psychometric robustness and cross-cultural validity remains limited. Objectives: The present study aimed to adapt and validate the New Naturalness Scale in three European countries – Italy, France, and The Netherlands – and to examine its psychometric properties with complementary psychometric approaches. Materials and Methods: Representative samples of 500 participants per country completed an online survey including the New Naturalness Scale, Environmental Concern, and Food Technology Neophobia. Scale validity was assessed using confirmatory factor analysis, measurement invariance testing, and item response theory. Results: Findings confirmed the unidimensional structure of the scale and demonstrated satisfactory measurement invariance across nationality, age, gender, education, and diet type. Item response theory analyses supported appropriate item functioning, ordered response categories, and adequate discrimination across the latent trait, although reduced sensitivity emerged at higher levels of naturalness preference. Convergent validity was supported by positive associations with environmental concern and food technology neophobia. Discussion and Conclusions: The results support the cross-cultural validity and reliability of the New Naturalness Scale and indicate its suitability for comparative research on food perception and innovation, while also highlighting directions for future scale refinement.
Loera et al. (2026) studied this question.