Sensory profiling of pears from the Pacific Northwest: Consumers' perspective and descriptive analysis.

This study used data from consumer testing, descriptive analysis (DA), and preference mapping to determine the sensory characteristics of pear cultivars from two harvest seasons in the Pacific Northwest (PNW). A trained sensory panel (n = 10) used generic DA to evaluate multiple sensory modalities of 22 pear cultivars. Six pears from summer and six from winter season were evaluated by consumers (n = 219) to assess their liking of different attributes. Results of the DA showed the trained panel significantly discriminated the summer and winter pears on most of the sensory modalities. To identify the attributes driving consumer acceptability, external preference mapping was applied. Attributes such as pear aroma, pear flavor, sweet, sour, and juicy were the most contributory attributes to the liking of the summer pears. Conversely, fermented aroma, stemmy-woody aroma, fermented flavor, stemmy-woody flavor, and grainy-gritty attributes were associated with a reduction in consumer liking. Summer cultivars, "Bartlett," coded pear 573, and "Seckel" had the broadest preference, satisfying 60% to 80% of the consumers. Seventy-five percent of the consumers identified winter cultivars "Comice" and "Paragon" as the most appealing. Overall, cluster analysis showed that different pears appeal to different types of consumers; however, summer cultivars like "Bartlett" and "Seckel" and winter cultivars like "Comice" and "Paragon" would appeal to the greatest number of consumers in the PNW market. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Sensory attributes like pear flavor, sweet, and juicy, were important drivers of liking for pear consumers in the Pacific Northwest. These results should prove useful to pear growers and marketers to increase pear consumption in the United States.

Consumer Response to Tomato Pomace Powder as an Ingredient in Bread: Impact of Sensory Liking and Benefit Information on Purchase Intent.

This study evaluated consumer acceptance and purchase intent (PI) for bread formulated with dried tomato pomace powder (DTPP). DTPP was used to substitute 5 or 10% by weight for a 50/50 mix of white and whole-wheat flour used in a control bread. Consumers (n = 231) evaluated sensory attributes and PI on the breads, which were produced and presented as slices from a typical commercial sandwich loaf. Before answering PI questions, panelists were presented with information regarding the DTPP ingredient. Some received information on nutritional quality, some on sustainability impact, some both, some neither. This approach allowed the impacts of those messages on PI to be tested, along with impact of liking, price, and other factors. PI was analyzed using a fractional logistic model. Statistically significant differences were observed in several sensory attributes, some favoring the DTPP ingredient with overall liking very similar for the 5% DTPP and control bread samples. Price and overall liking were highly significant variables effecting PI. DTPP proved to be an excellent ingredient to replace a portion of wheat flours to improve nutritional value of bread products. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study shows that dried tomato pomace powder (DTPP) has potential application as an ingredient, since it improved nutritional content, appearance, and color appeal of wheat bread. Furthermore, food producers who are considering the use of byproducts in their product formulations should be encouraged by the finding that informed consumers were as willing to purchase the bread with the ingredient, as they were to purchase a typical comparable sandwich bread without it. Furthermore, both a nutrition message and a sustainability message can increase PI for the bread containing the byproduct relative to their PI toward the control bread.

Consumer detection and acceptability of reduced-sodium bread.

OBJECTIVE: Bread is the largest contributor of Na to the American diet and excess Na consumption contributes to premature death and disability. We sought to determine the Na level at which consumers could detect a difference between reduced-Na bread and bread with typical Na content, and to determine if consumer sensory acceptability and purchase intent differed between reduced-Na bread and bread with typical Na content. DESIGN: Difference testing measured ability to detect differences in control bread and reduced-Na bread using two-alternative forced choice testing. Acceptability was measured using a nine-point hedonic scale and purchase intent was measured using a five-point purchase intent scale. SETTING: Difference and acceptability testing were conducted in Portland, OR, USA in January 2013. SUBJECTS: Eighty-two consumers participated in difference testing and 109 consumers participated in acceptability testing. RESULTS: Consumers did not detect a difference in saltiness between the control bread and the 10 % reduced-Na bread, but did detect a difference between the control bread and bread reduced in Na content by 20 % and 30 %. Na reductions had no effect on consumer acceptability of sensory characteristics, including overall liking, appearance, aroma, flavour, sweetness, salt level and texture, or purchase intent. CONCLUSIONS: Reducing Na levels by up to 30 % in the sandwich bread tested did not affect consumer liking or purchase intent of the product. These results support national recommendations for small, incremental Na reductions in the food supply over time and assure bread manufacturers that sensory characteristics and consumer purchase intent of their products will be preserved after Na reductions occur.