Would repeated consumption of sports drinks with different acidulants lead to hedonic adjustment?

Repeated exposure to sports drinks with different acidulants added at equal sour concentrations led to hedonic adjustment when consumers (n = 128) evaluated a Lemon & Lime flavoured sports drink over a period of 14 days. Consumer preferences after repeated exposure could not have been predicted from the initial small sample single exposure consumer taste test. Product exposure and time on trial influenced the preferences of consumers. Products that were initially preferred became less preferred after 14 days. The findings of this study challenge the validity of sensory evaluation test strategies that rely on single exposure testing to predict long term consumer preferences.     

Consumers’ acceptance of recycled water in meat products: The influence of tasting,attitudes and values on hedonic and emotional reactions

Community opposition to potable recycled water may extend to recycled water in food production. Past research on recycled potable water indicates that the closer the risk of personal contact or ingestion, the less acceptable it is. Despite purification and expert assurances, emotional responses, including disgust, may present as major psychological barriers to the environmental and commercial benefit of recycled water use in food production. Consumers (n = 101) were presented with meat products purported to be processed or containing recycled water (3 levels of proximity to ingestion) along with a control product (containing tap water). Hedonic and 18 emotional responses were elicited. Validated survey instruments were used to measure world views (values), beliefs supportive of environmental actions and food technology neophobia seeking to explain variation in hedonic and emotional responses. Surprisingly, consumers were found to be generally accepting and willing to try foods containing or in close proximity to recycled water when that water was collected, treated and returned to drinking water standards within the factory. All hypotheses pertaining to associated values, beliefs and neophobia were rejected. The study suggests that recycling water within a food factory, when supported by a credible and trustworthy source of information, is likely to be met with positive emotional and affective responses. Using a broad range of affective and emotional responses was useful in understanding acceptance of foods that may be associated with perceived risk.     

Consumer acceptance measurement focusing on a specified sensory attribute of products: Can the attribute-specified degree of satisfaction-difference (DOSD) method replace hedonic scaling?

A specific attribute can play an important role in determining consumers’ perceived quality and acceptance of a product. Kim, van Hout, Dessirier, and Lee (2018) proposed a new affective method, the degree of satisfaction-difference (DOSD) method, to study consumer acceptance in terms of overall satisfaction with products. In the present study, this DOSD method was further developed to assess satisfaction for a specified attribute of products rather than overall satisfaction, and this modification is referred to as the attribute-specified DOSD method. To test its applicability, 11 bouillon products (including a reference product) varying in viscosity were used as stimuli. Satisfaction with the perceived mouthfeel thickness, which is a viscosity-related sensory attribute, was evaluated with the attribute-specified DOSD method and with a 10-point category scale for overall liking as the control method. Two groups of consumers performed either the attribute-specified DOSD method or hedonic scaling over two repeated sessions. Results showed that the satisfaction patterns of the attribute-specified DOSD method were similar to those of the hedonic scaling across products, confirming that the mouthfeel thickness was a determinant of consumer acceptance for bouillon products. Examining the test reliability in terms of consistency of consumers’ responses for the same stimulus in different sessions, both groups showed consistent results. The subjects who performed the attribute-specified DOSD method were also segmented based on the degree of satisfaction with the reference product. Here, each consumer sensory segment showed different patterns on satisfaction with other test products. These findings demonstrate the potential of the attribute-specified DOSD method for measuring the consumer responses to the level/quality of an important attribute/dimension and highlight its usefulness for consumer sensory segmentation.