Effect of biofortification and ingredient replacement on consumer acceptance: the case of cassava

Biofortification and ingredient substitution are strategies for promoting cassava in Africa and Asia. Acceptance of a biofortified cassava crop rich in provitamin A was tested in traditional products (gari, fufu in Nigeria); products made with substituted cassava flour to imported wheat flour in snack products (chinchin in Nigeria), bread (in Vietnam), and in traditional dough products (ugali) in Tanzania. Consumer acceptance was evaluated using a Central Location Method. We used a mixture of methods: Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) approach using a locally recruited and semi-trained sensory panellists, but also worked with consumer based sensory descriptive methods such as Just-About-Right (JAR) and Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) to relate sensory description of the products to consumer acceptability. In all cases novel products were tested against commonly and locally available products. Novel cassava products from biofortified crops or substitution of wheat flour were found acceptable. For each product, consumers could be segmented in different classes based on their liking preferences for the novel or local product. The sensory properties could explain some of the liking. The difference colour (yellow) of the biofortified cassava products was not found to be a hindrance to acceptance. Wheat flour substitution resulted in products that were in some cases perceived almost similar (i.e. snack; bread) although some of the consumers were more perceptive than others and in these cases acceptance was slightly altered. These various studies shows that there is potential for the introduction of products from biofortified cassava and substitution of wheat flour by high quality cassava flour. (Résumé d'auteur