A conjoint study on apple acceptability: sensory characteristics and nutritional information

The main objective of this work was to study whether the intensity of intrinsic sensory attributes and different information about fibre and antioxidant content (extrinsic attributes) provided immediately before tasting could affect the acceptability of four apple varieties characterised by two levels of crunchiness and sweetness. The tested products (Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Reinette du Canada) were selected on the basis of the results of the quantitative descriptive analysis performed on 21 commercially available varieties. A panel of 346 consumers was asked to rate the overall liking of the selected cultivars, which were presented in duplicate with different information about fibres and antioxidants content using a fractional factorial design. A preliminary test was performed on 226 consumers to measure the acceptability without the effect of such information. Demographic data, fruit consumption data, and the importance of health aspects in nutrition were also collected by means of a questionnaire. Significant effects were found for the sensory factors: overall liking was positively influenced by high levels of crunchiness and sweetness. Information about the nutritional content affected apple acceptance only for some consumer groups depending on their attitudes towards healthy food. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of conjoint analysis integrated with tasting in the case of fresh unprocessed product. Moreover, the proposed approach provides to Italian apple producers/distributors a better understanding of the relative importance consumers give to sensory attributes and nutritional information in order to support consumer-led breeding selection