Spanish consumers' knowledge and attitudes towards microalgae as food were assessed using a specific questionnaire - a total of 3084 Spanish consumers over 18 years old were considered in the current study. Overall, the questionnaire revealed that there is a huge lack of knowledge on basic aspects of microalgae, especially within the youngest respondents (18–24 years old) and for those aged over 65 years old. Approximately 85% of all respondents scored the statement “There is a big lack of information about microalgae” with either 4 or 5 (using a 5-point hedonic scale), demonstrating that microalgae and their potential applications are unknown to the majority of the Spanish population. Spanish consumers consider microalgae as: (i) sustainable and environmentally friendly, (ii) nutritious and healthy, and (iii) safe, which is of key importance for food products. The main reasons that were given for not consuming microalgae were lack of information available on the product and lack of consuming habit. The current study also demonstrated that increasing consumer's knowledge on microalgae has the potential to increase consumer choice and market shares of microalgae-enriched products. Results reported herein could be extrapolated to other European countries, although perception and attitudes towards food can vary depending on cultural considerations.

西班牙消费者对微藻类食物的了解和态度已通过特定问卷进行了评估-在本研究中，总共考虑了3084位18岁以上的西班牙消费者。总体而言，调查问卷表明，对于微藻的基本方面知识非常缺乏，尤其是在最年轻的受访者（18-24岁）和65岁以上的受访者中。大约85％的受访者对“微藻信息非常缺乏”的评分”（4点或5点（使用5点享乐尺度）），表明大多数西班牙人都不知道微藻类及其潜在用途。西班牙消费者认为微藻是：（i）可持续和环境友好；（ii）营养和健康；以及（iii）安全，这对于食品而言至关重要。不食用微藻的主要原因是缺乏有关产品的可用信息和缺乏食用习惯。当前的研究还表明，增加消费者对微藻的了解有可能增加消费者的选择和富含微藻产品的市场份额。尽管对食物的看法和态度可能会根据文化因素而有所不同，但本文报道的结果可以推断到其他欧洲国家。