Investigating How the Disclosure of Production Methods Influences Consumers’ Sensory Perceptions of Sparkling Wines

An investigation into the sensory properties of luffa (Luffa cylindrica (L.)) seeds and a comparison to other seeds (flax, sunflower, chia, and hemp)

Consumers are interested in new sustainable ingredients but are unwilling to accept undesirable sensory properties in their food products. Luffa (Luffa cylindrica) is mainly harvested and processed for its fibrous network, which is used as an exfoliator, while its seeds are usually discarded. However, the seeds have been found to have various nutritional benefits. As such, this study investigated the sensory properties of luffa seed powder added to yogurt and compared it to other seed powder (flax, sunflower, chia, and hemp). Consumers (n = 107) evaluated their liking of the different seeds added to yogurt using hedonic scales and the sensory properties using check-all-that-apply (CATA). The luffa seeds when mixed with yogurt were associated with off-colour, off-flavour, metallic, strong flavour, bitter, salty, earthy and decreased consumer liking. The flax and sunflower seeds were found to be sweet, nutty, cooked, mild flavour, and to have a smooth texture. The overall liking scores for the flax and sunflower seed samples were significantly higher than the luffa and hemp samples. Future studies should investigate different drying and roasting treatments to improve the sensory properties of the luffa seeds.

Consumer engagement with sustainable wine: An application of the Transtheoretical Model

Sustainable wine is an important emergent wine category for which there is limited research on levels of consumer engagement and the multifaceted drivers of that engagement. Here, I extend prior research largely limited to organic wine, and apply the Transtheoretical Model of Behavioural Change (TTM) for the first time to determine consumer engagement around eight sustainable wine behaviours, and the role of purchase motivators, wine involvement and demographic factors in predicting those behaviours. The online survey of 727 Canadian wine consumers determined the action stage for each sustainable wine behaviour (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, or action), and multinomial logistic regressions assessed the drivers of both action and inaction (precontemplation). Results show that most consumers are in a change stage with respect to sustainable wine behaviours (i.e., contemplation or preparation), suggesting the need for both education and sustainable certification initiatives. Generally, neither gender, income, province of residence, education nor the importance of price in wine purchase decisions associated with action stage for behaviours. In contrast, wine involvement and the importance of sustainability cues in wine purchase were the strongest and most consistent predictors of both action and inaction, while age and the importance of both taste expectation and perceived quality were predictive for some behaviours. I conclude that TTM is a very useful construct for assessing the nuances of consumer behaviour toward sustainable products, and the findings provide guidance for stakeholders interested in promoting greater sustainability in the wine industry through influencing consumer choice behaviour.

Combination of the Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) Method and Just-About-Right (JAR) Scale to Evaluate Korean Traditional Rice Wine (Yakju)

This study aimed to compare a variant of the check-all-that-apply (CATA) method, CATA with just-about-right (JAR) scales (CATA-JAR), with the CATA and rate-all-that-apply (RATA) methods for evaluating 12 Korean traditional rice wines (yakju). All consumers (n = 312) assessed each sample on a 9-point hedonic scale and were asked to fill out the CATA, RATA, or CATA-JAR questionnaire using a 5-point JAR scale. The frequency and percentage of terms with significant differences among CATA-JAR samples were significantly higher than those for the CATA method. The regression vector (RV) between the sample and term configurations of the three methods were all over 0.84, indicating that all methods were similar in terms of product and term usage. Regarding the stability of the sample configurations, CATA-JAR could derive a stable value with the lowest number of consumers (n = 25). For the CATA-JAR method, significant penalties for each attribute and product were successfully calculated using the t-test and bootstrapping technique, to identify any attribute detrimental to liking for each product. Overall, considering its better performance in discriminating products and stability, the CATA-JAR method may be used when comparing samples with subtle differences in attributes.

Improving Wine Quality and Safety

Wine is a product that can be characterized both as a commodity but also as a luxury, depending on its price [...]