ARS | Publication request: ASSESSMENT OF CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS: A CASE STUDY WITH PEANUT BUTTER

Submitted to: National Meeting of Institute of Food Technologists/Food Expo
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 24, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: A study was conducted to identify critical consumer attributes for creamy peanut butter and correlated consumer acceptance language and descriptive analysis, enabling the definition of consumer liking attributes in terms of descriptive attribute intensities. An expert panel screened 42 commercial peanut butters to determine the range of flavor and texture characteristics. A descriptive ballot, that defined the product category, was developed and used to identify twenty-two peanut butters representing the commercially available range of flavor and texture variations. Eight highly trained descriptive analysis panelists evaluated the subset of peanut butters using 19 flavor, 12 texture, and 5 appearance terms. The descriptive analysis resulted in identification of four groups of products with unique flavor and texture characteristics and facilitated further reduction of the sample set for the consumer study to 16 products. Prior to the quantitative consumer research, 2 focus groups of 8-10 participants generated consumer terminology for the consumer test questionnaire. Eight of the 16 peanut butters were rated by consumers over a 2-da period following a balanced incomplete block design. Consumers rated liking and intensity (diagnostic) for 18 attributes that included appearance, flavor and texture. Through the consumer-descriptive data relationships, examined using a variety of uni- and multivariate statistical methods, attributes that affect consumer liking and the attributes that signal consumer responses of interest were identified. These included roasted peanutty, salty, sweet, smooth/rough texture, and color attributes.