Tempeh: a tempting potential vitamin B12 treat : An exploration of legumes and vitamin B12

Sammanfattning: Background: Legumes are beneficial for the environment, nutritious and coupled with various health benefits. However, they lack the essential vitamin B12 and a vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to hazardous health problems. Tempeh is a fermented legume product that has the potential of carrying vitamin B12. Aim: The aim of this thesis is to investigate consumers' awareness of vitamin B12 and explore the indications for the possibility to introduce tempeh - a fermented legume product. Method: A quantitative survey was carried out within four different areas of Stockholm using a clustering sample technique with 195 participants who were recruited outside supermarkets through convenience sampling. Results: The majority of the subjects had moderate consumption of legumes and was open to trying tempeh even though they had never heard about it. While their knowledge of vitamin B12 was limited, the biggest risk groups, vegans and the elderly, were aware that they were a risk group but only a minority of them knew the correct vitamin B12 food sources. Conclusion: The participants in this study had little knowledge about vitamin B12 food sources, deficiencies or risk groups. Since their legume consumption was regular and they were positive towards trying tempeh even though they had never heard about tempeh before, there is potential for it in the market. However, more studies are needed to research the bioavailability of vitamin B12 in tempeh even though new research gives hope that it can be a possibility.