Fruit and Vegetable Quality

CHAPTER 10

Instrumental Data—Consumer Acceptance

BERNHARD BRÜCKNER

HELGA AUERSWALD

INTRODUCTION

TECHNICAL progress has accelerated the improvement of methods to
analyze food and this development probably will continue. At the same
time attention is amplified, focusing on the consumer of the products.
Increased competition and low success rates in new products seem to
justify efforts to gain knowledge of and implement those food attributes
that consumers will perceive and like.
To become able to predict the Hedonic reaction of consumers to per-
ceivable attributes, objective, measurable data and consumer acceptance
data are combined. Schutz (1990, 1993) summarized that the objective
of this research for horticultural products is, besides the purely funda-
mental scientific, to

• develop guidelines for the production (modification and opti-
  mization of cultivation techniques and selection of appropriate
  cultivars)


• offer criteria for quality assurance and quality management

QUALITY CRITERIA

How can directly perceivable attributes, which can influence accep-
tance ratings, be integrated into the whole quality frame of consumers?

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