A total of 12 Norwegian cheeses were evaluated by five expert individuals, who professionally predict the likelihood of consumer rejection of a product. Five selected cheeses were then evaluated by 110 consumers. Participants in the study rated their overall liking of the cheeses, flavor intensity and degree of soft or firm texture.
One notable finding was that one of the cheeses, which was scored lowest overall by the experts, was scored higher among one consumer segment. This could be because some consumers actually favored certain characteristics of flavor or texture considered to be defects in the cheeses by the assessors.
"It is important to study consumer responses to food products and to check the results against defined quality standards and tolerance limits," states lead researcher, Margrethe Hersleth of the Norwegian Food Research Institute. "Hopefully, food companies will pay more attention to consumer responses during establishment and evaluation of quality standards. It is important to do more research on methods for obtaining sensory specifications with consumer input."
This article is published in the Journal of Food Quality. Media who wish to receive a PDF of this article may contact professionalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net.
Margrethe Hersleth is a research scientist at the Norwegian Food Research Institute (Matforsk) in Norway She is also Associate Professor in Sensory Science at the Agricultural University of Norway, Department of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, where she also has received a Master of Science in Food Technology and a PhD in Sensory Science. She can be reached for questions at margrethe.hersleth@matforsk.no.
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Journal of Food Quality