MAPPING THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE ON CONSUMER LIKING AND WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR YOGURT

Preference mapping identified different groups of consumers on the basis of their disconfirmations (occurring when the product is either better or worse than expected) and assimilations (occurring when actual liking [L] moves toward the expectations). The negative disconfirmation of a group of consumers (Group 1) was based on the information about animal welfare (the products were worse than expected because the information about animal welfare induced high expectations), whereas in Group 2 the sensory properties of the products prevailed in orienting consumer disconfirmation (products were worse than expected because the sensory properties of low-fat yogurt were disliked). The map of assimilation showed that consumers from Group 1 had higher assimilation for plain yogurt associated with high welfare standards as a consequence of the high discrepancy between blind and expected L for these products. A similar behavior was observed for Group 2 (higher discrepancy between blind and expected L corresponding to higher assimilation for low-fat yogurt paired with high welfare standards).

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

Consumers based their choices both on sensory properties (plain yogurts were preferred to low-fat yogurts) and on information about animal welfare (products associated with high welfare standards were preferred to the others). Preference mapping was able to identify groups of consumers behaving differently, as compared with the general trend, on the basis of their disconfirmations and assimilations.
Consumer willingness to pay reflected the hedonic behavior, thus validating the auction procedure for food liking evaluation purposes and providing a useful tool to obtain information about the real value (i.e., in monetary terms) consumers give to animal welfare.     

The relationship between wound-induced proteinase inhibitors and hydraulic signals in tomato seedlings

Localized wounding is known to induce systemic proteinase inhibitors (PI) in seedlings of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.). Inhibitors of elastase (EC 3.4.21.36) were shown here to be among those systemically induced by wounding, and a simple rapid assay for PI based on elastase was developed. Using this assay, the nature of the systemic signalling system (‘PIIF’) was investigated. Hydraulic signals were shown to be induced in tomato by localized wounds. These signals travelled throughout the plant well within the lag time before appearance of systemic wound-induced PI. A number of correlations were drawn between the occurrence of the hydraulic signals and induction of systemic PI, suggesting that hydraulic signals might be the PIIF, or a component of it. It was shown that systemic hydraulic signals could be triggered, without significant wounding, by excision of a single leaflet through the submerged petiole. These hydraulic signals were similar in both kinetics and magnitude to those induced by localized wounding. However, they did not induce systemic PI. In addition, it was shown that systemic events almost as rapid as wound-induced hydraulic signals could be induced without wounding, under certain environmental conditions. This indicates that rapid hydraulic signals do not provide a specific signal of wounding. These findings demonstrate that hydraulic signals per se are not the PIIF.     

SENSORY PROFILE DESCRIPTION OF MOZZARELLA CHEESE AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CONSUMER PREFERENCE

The aim of this work was to set up the sensory profile and consumer preference test of three different Mozzarella cheeses (from full-fat cow milk, from low-fat cow milk and from full-fat water buffalo milk). The most remarkable difference in composition was the fat content. Nine commercial Mozzarella cheeses (three for each type) were evaluated in triplicate by a trained panel consisting of 10 assessors. Six Mozzarella cheeses (two for each type) out of the nine samples were selected and used for the preference test by 105 consumers. The three different Mozzarella cheeses were sensorially well differentiated. A good discrimination between the Mozzarella cheeses was obtained using the internal preference map method. The combination of cluster analysis and internal preference mapping has lead to a deeper understanding of consumer liking for Mozzarella cheeses.