TY - JOUR
T1 - Sustainable fruit consumption
T2 - the influence of color, shape and damage on consumer sensory perception and liking of different apples
AU - Normann, Anne
AU - Röding, Magnus
AU - Wendin, Karin
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Sustainable food production and consumption are currently key issues. About one third of food produced for human consumption is wasted. In developed countries, consumers are responsible for the largest amount of food waste throughout the supply chain. The unwillingness to purchase and consume suboptimal food products is an important cause of food waste, however, the reasons behind this are still insufficiently studied. Our research addresses the question of how combinations of color, shape and damage of apples influence consumer liking and perceived sensory attributes. In a laboratory study based on factorial design of visual appearance (color, shape and damage varied from optimal to suboptimal) a total of 130 consumers evaluated sensory perception of flavor and texture attributes in apple samples. Liking was also evaluated. The results showed a significant difference in liking between an optimal apple and all apple categories with at least two out of three suboptimal properties. Further, it was a clear trend that the optimal apple was perceived as sweeter, crispier, less bitter, and less earthy than all the other apples by the participating consumers, however, the results were not statistically significant. A suboptimal appearance, therefore, had a negative effect on both perception and liking.
AB - Sustainable food production and consumption are currently key issues. About one third of food produced for human consumption is wasted. In developed countries, consumers are responsible for the largest amount of food waste throughout the supply chain. The unwillingness to purchase and consume suboptimal food products is an important cause of food waste, however, the reasons behind this are still insufficiently studied. Our research addresses the question of how combinations of color, shape and damage of apples influence consumer liking and perceived sensory attributes. In a laboratory study based on factorial design of visual appearance (color, shape and damage varied from optimal to suboptimal) a total of 130 consumers evaluated sensory perception of flavor and texture attributes in apple samples. Liking was also evaluated. The results showed a significant difference in liking between an optimal apple and all apple categories with at least two out of three suboptimal properties. Further, it was a clear trend that the optimal apple was perceived as sweeter, crispier, less bitter, and less earthy than all the other apples by the participating consumers, however, the results were not statistically significant. A suboptimal appearance, therefore, had a negative effect on both perception and liking.
KW - Appearance
KW - Apples
KW - Consumer
KW - Perception
KW - Suboptimality
U2 - 10.3390/su11174626
DO - 10.3390/su11174626
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85071963535
SN - 2071-1050
VL - 11
JO - Sustainability (Switzerland)
JF - Sustainability (Switzerland)
IS - 17
M1 - 4626
ER -
