{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T10:37:55Z","timestamp":1787567875166,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]],"date-time":"2026-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"\u201cAurel Vlaicu\u201d University of Arad, Romania","award":["53\/18.06.2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["53\/18.06.2025"]}]},{"award":["53\/18.06.2025"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["53\/18.06.2025"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05w5rsy15","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: The transition toward healthier and more sustainable diets has increased the need for reformulated bakery and confectionery products formulated with alternative ingredients. However, validated instruments for assessing consumer acceptance of these products remain limited. This study aimed to develop and psychometrically validate a multidimensional assessment framework integrating food choice motives, green (environmental) values, health consciousness, perceived nutritional value, willingness to pay a premium, and purchase intention. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 504 consumers in Romania using an online questionnaire. The instrument was developed by adapting established scales and by developing a new Perceived Nutritional Value scale. Dimensionality was evaluated using exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory (CFA) factor analyses. Temporal stability was assessed in an independent test\u2013retest subsample (n = 30; 14-day interval), and the proposed conceptual model was evaluated using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with 5000 bootstrap resamples. Robustness was examined through a sensitivity analysis excluding respondents younger than 18 years (N = 441). Results: EFA (KMO = 0.933) and CFA (CFI = 0.965, TLI = 0.959, RMSEA = 0.061, SRMR = 0.033) supported the proposed six-factor structure. All constructs demonstrated excellent internal consistency (Cronbach\u2019s \u03b1: 0.898\u20130.938), convergent validity (AVE: 0.790\u20130.889), discriminant validity (HTMT &lt; 0.77), and good-to-excellent test\u2013retest reliability (ICC: 0.82\u20130.91). Perceived nutritional value was positively and significantly associated with both willingness to pay and purchase intention, and willingness to pay partially mediated the association between perceived nutritional value and purchase intention. The structural model explained 46.1% of the variance in purchase intention; all hypothesized relationships were supported, and the findings remained stable in the sensitivity analysis. Conclusions: The proposed framework demonstrated good psychometric performance and provides a theory-informed measurement framework for assessing consumer acceptance of reformulated bakery and confectionery products. It may support future nutrition research, consumer studies, and the evaluation of food reformulation strategies aimed at promoting healthier and more sustainable dietary choices.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods15172950","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T09:20:02Z","timestamp":1787563202000},"page":"2950","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Consumer Assessment Framework for Alternative-Ingredient Bakery and Confectionery Products: Implications for Nutrition Methodology and Sustainable Diet Research"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Anca Mihaela","family":"Dicu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310025 Arad, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3182-1683","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ruxandra-Cristina","family":"Marin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Discipline of Pharmacology, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, \u201cCarol Davila\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania"},{"name":"Doctoral School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, University of Oradea, 410087 Oradea, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0497-0405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"C\u0103lin","family":"Muntean","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department III Functional Science, Discipline of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Radu Dumitru","family":"Moleriu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department III Functional Science, Discipline of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9630-4727","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anca","family":"Tudor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department III Functional Science, Discipline of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Teodora","family":"Piro\u0219","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department III Functional Science, Discipline of Medical Informatics and Biostatistics, \u201cVictor Babes\u201d University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 300041 Timisoara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7690-9008","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Florentina Simona","family":"Barbu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Economic Research and Consultancy, Faculty of Economics, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310032 Arad, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dana Gina","family":"Radu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection, Aurel Vlaicu University of Arad, 310025 Arad, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-4138-469X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lumini\u021ba \u0218tefania","family":"Bozdog","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, West University of Timi\u0219oara, 300223 Timi\u0219oara, Romania"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"447","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(18)31788-4","article-title":"Food in the Anthropocene: The EAT\u2013Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems","volume":"393","author":"Willett","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1958","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(19)30041-8","article-title":"Health Effects of Dietary Risks in 195 Countries, 1990\u20132017: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017","volume":"393","author":"Afshin","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_3","unstructured":"(2026, July 09). 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