Juliana MELENDREZ-RUIZ

 juliana.melendrezruiz@inrae.fr

Research Engineer   

PhD in Life and Health Sciences from the University of Bourgogne-Franche Comté. Defended on October 9, 2020. Jury: Pr. Gaston Ares, Dr. Armando Perez-Cueto, Pr.Edith Sales Vuillemin, Dr. Benjamin Alles.

Joint Master degre Erasmus Mundus Food Identity – École Supérieure d ́Agriculture d ́Angers (ESA)– Angers, France

Current food habits changes need adapted methodologies to understand the mechanisms that underline todays’ food consumption and promote a healthier and sustainable diet. As young researcher in food consumer sciences, I use a holistic approach to investigate consumer food choices. Food choices are complex an need to consider the person as a whole, with its psychological, physiological traits and the constant interaction with their social and cultural environment. Similarly, the factors related to the food product of interest are taken into account, such as the extrinsic (ex: packaging, price) and intrinsic (ex: sensory) aspects.

To do so, a multidisciplinary approach is use to develop the best methodologies to capture consumers perceptions, attitudes, mental representations and behaviors. At the end, my research aims to identify barriers to consumption for specific product such as pulses, but also highlight opportunities to improve consumer food habits.

My PhD thesis was awarded by the French Academy of Agriculture with the Dufrenoy silver medal and I was a scholarship holder for the European Erasmus Mundus Master 2015-2017.

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Arvisenet, G., Dubot, M., Dujourdy, L., & Chambaron, S. (2023). Consumer Attitudes toward Pulses : Measuring the Implicit. Nutrients, 15(11), Article 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15112608

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Buatois, Q., Chambaron, S., Monnery-Patris, S., & Arvisenet, G. (2019). French consumers know the benefits of pulses, but do not choose them : An exploratory study combining indirect and direct approaches. Appetite, 141, 104311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.06.003 

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Chambaron, S., Buatois, Q., Monnery-Patris, S., & Arvisenet, G. (2019). A central place for meat, but what about pulses? Studying French consumers’ representations of main dish structure, using an indirect approach. Food Research International, 123, 790‑800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2019.06.004

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Arvisenet, G., Laugel, V., Chambaron, S., & Monnery-Patris, S. (2020). Do French Consumers Have the Same Social Representations of Pulses as Food Industry Professionals? Foods, 9(2), 147. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020147 

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Chambaron, S., Saldaña, E., Monnery-Patris, S., & Arvisenet, G. (2022). Using CATA tests to capture consumers’ mental representations elicited by images of pulse-based food products with different levels of processing. Appetite, 170, 105887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105887 

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Claret, A., Chambaron, S., Arvisenet, G., & Guerrero, L. (2021). Enhancing assessment of social representations by comparing groups with different cultural and demographic characteristics : A case study on pulses. Food Quality and Preference, 104188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104188 

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Dujourdy, L., Goisbault, I., Charrier, J.-C., Pagnat, K., Nicklaus, S., Arvisenet, G., & Chambaron, S. (2022). “You look at it, but will you choose it” : Is there a link between the foods consumers look at and what they ultimately choose in a virtual supermarket? Food Quality and Preference, 98, 104510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2021.104510 

Melendrez-Ruiz, J., Goisbault, I., Charrier, J.-C., Pagnat, K., Dujourdy, L., Arvisenet, G., & Chambaron, S. (2021). An Exploratory Study Combining Eye-Tracking and Virtual Reality : Are Pulses Good “Eye-Catchers” in Virtual Supermarket Shelves? Frontiers in Virtual Reality, 2, 68. https://doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2021.655273