A new study from Tohoku University sheds light on something many of us have experienced at the dinner table: the hesitation to try an unfamiliar food.
The research focuses on Japan’s struggle to make use of underconsumed game meats like wild boar and deer, but the insights go far beyond any single food. At the heart of the issue is a common psychological tendency known as food neophobia, or the reluctance to try something new.
Lead researcher Tomoko Imoto said the team wanted to understand why people shy away from foods they perceive as unfamiliar or risky.
“Game meat is not just an ecological solution; it is a sustainable food resource,” she said.
She explained that even with supply available, consumer hesitation remains a major barrier. The researchers saw a gap in understanding the mindset behind that hesitancy.
“We needed to understand the mindset of the consumer to figure out why,” she said.
To explore this, the team used the Theory of Reasoned Action, a framework that examines how beliefs shape intentions, and added two extra elements: prior experience and food neophobia. Surveying 537 adults across Japan, they found that people rely heavily on expectations about taste, safety and quality when deciding whether to try a new food. These perceptions mattered far more than ethical or sustainability concerns.
Food neophobia emerged as one of the strongest predictors of rejection. People who described themselves as hesitant around new foods were more likely to assume an unfamiliar food would taste bad or be unsafe. Meanwhile, for the 40% of participants who had already tried game meat, familiarity made a meaningful difference. Their past positive experiences eased concerns and improved their perceptions of quality, creating a more accepting group of consumers.
The findings, published in Food Quality and Preference, suggest that what we think about a food before tasting it may be just as powerful as the flavor itself. Imoto noted that building familiarity could help bridge that gap.
“The key lies in strengthening the supply chain with strict quality and hygiene standards,” she said, adding that tasting opportunities and serving new foods in familiar formats may help reduce fear and improve acceptance.
While the study uses Japan’s game meat challenges as a case study, the broader takeaway applies to many foods people hesitate to try, from vegetables that look unusual to dishes from cultures they are less familiar with. Experience, expectations and small exposures can shift the way people think about new foods, which may encourage more variety and openness at the table.
The study was supported by a research grant from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.