Thesis--Washington State University. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--Washington State University. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Texas at Dallas, 2006. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 136-142)

Master of Science / Department of Food, Nutrition, Dietetics and Health / Edgar Chambers IV / Sensory analysis techniques play a key role in the pet food industry to ensure the final product meets both the pets’ and pet owners’ demands and expectations. To date, the study of the pet owners’ perception towards pet foods is still an emerging field of study and a few number of publications have been released on the topic. In particular, little research has been conducted on exploring the pet owners’ perception regarding the appearance of pet foods. The objective of this work is to study the effect of the visual characteristics of dry dog food on the acceptability and perception by consumer segments of dog owners in the US and in Poland and to explore whether differences exist within countries and across the two countries. For this purpose, dog owners in both locations evaluated the appearance of thirty dry dog food samples with varying visual properties. The participants rated their degree of acceptability towards the appearance of the samples with four different attributes using 9-point hedonic scales. Also, the consumers were asked to associate each one of the samples with a list of positive and negative beliefs on a check-all-that-apply question. Cluster Analysis, ANOVA, and Correspondence Analysis were used to analyze the consumer feedback. The results demonstrate that the acceptability of the appearance of dry dog food is affected by the number of different kibbles present, color(s), shape(s), and size(s) in the product. Similarities were found both within countries and across countries and consumer segments. Consumers overall showed a preference for single-kibble samples of medium brown colors, medium kibble sizes, low-dimensional contrast kibbles and traditional kibble shapes. Furthermore, extra-small or extra-large sized kibble sizes and kibble shapes with a high-dimensional contrast were rejected by the consumers overall. In addition, differences across consumer segments within countries and across countries were identified from the results. The findings indicate that this topic have possibly been overlooked and opportunities for further research on this field are identified. Dry dog food manufacturers should take special consideration with the appearance of their products to enhance the acceptability by dog owners. The outcome of this work can help to drive dry dog food companies meet consumers’ needs and demands in a constantly changing pet food market, with benefits anticipated to the pet food industry and the wellbeing of dog owners.

With the prevalence and integration of the Internet in our lives, online shopping has become a popular and convenient method of obtaining goods. However, there is an important experience that occurs between the customer and the product as well as the customer and the space in the actual, physical store which does not yet occur in the virtual store (Raijas, 2002). Customers' increased use of new technology and the Internet illustrates that an incredible growth potential exists in the electronic grocery store industry. Currently, electronic grocery stores have not taken advantage of key components of traditional grocery retailing practices or information technology (Raijas, 2002). Consequently, electronic grocery stores have not yet provided customers with significant benefits for choosing online grocery shopping as opposed to traditional grocery shopping in the actual store. This finding suggests that a better quality shopping experience could be provided for online grocery store customers through the marriage of the benefits of online grocery shopping with the benefits of traditional grocery shopping. This study presents a proposal of how to combine the benefits of shopping in an actual retail store with the benefits of shopping online. / Master of Science

A consumer and a trained descriptive panel was utilized to determine liking ratings and flavor profiles, respectively, for commercial brands of pre-stirred yogurt. Once the consumer and descriptive panel data was collected, the data was combined to determine the interrelationship of these two sets of data and to determine the conditions necessary to optimize the sensory characteristics of commercial yogurt. This study was broken down into two parts: (1) evaluation by a 90 to 182 member consumer panel and an 11 member descriptive panel for 14 strawberry and 6 lemon yogurt brands, and (2) correlation of the sensory measures of sweetness and sourness, and analytical measures of sugars and acids for 14 strawberry, 12 raspberry, 6 lemon, and 17 plain yogurt brands. Large sensory differences were found between yogurts for both flavors (strawberry and lemon) by both panels. Correlation and principal component analysis (PCA) indicated that two distinct groups of descriptors contributed to the liking of the yogurts: one associated with the fruity and sweetness characteristics, and the other related to the plain yogurt and sourness descriptors. Consumers based their overall liking ratings on fruit flavor, sweetness, sourness, and a balance of sweetness/sourness liking. Males and females rated samples differently by as much as one full scale value on a 9-pt. hedonic scale. Use of PCA to relate the two panels revealed that high consumer acceptance corresponded with the PC loaded with fruity and sweet characteristics while lower consumer acceptability was noted with high loadings on PC2 which was comprised of plain yogurt, acetaldehyde, and sourness descriptors. The results from the first part of the study indicate that to produce a highly acceptable yogurt, processors should strive to provide a balance between sweetness and sourness and provide enough fruit flavor to mask plain yogurt characteristics. In the second part of this study, titratable acidity and pH were measured for all the yogurts, while sugars were measured by HPLC only for the fruit flavored yogurts. Consumer overall liking was significantly correlated with sweetness intensity, sweetness:sourness (sw:so) ratio, and the summed impact of sweetness and sourness from the trained panel for strawberry and raspberry yogurt. No correlations between analytical measures and overall liking were found for any of the yogurts. A sw:so ratio greater than 1.0 for strawberry, and .8 for raspberry and lemon appeared necessary for high consumer acceptance. Generally, it was found that the sweeter the yogurt, the higher the consumer acceptance of fruit flavored yogurt. No relationships were found for any sensory and analytical measures for predicting the overall liking of plain yogurt. However, the best predictors of consumer liking of fruit flavored yogurt were the descriptive panel ratings. / Graduation date: 1991

Master of Science / Food Science Institute / Edgar Chambers IV / Sensory claims, which are descriptive communications about a product’s sensorial attributes, are used in the food and beverage industry to market products every year. Food manufacturers use puffery, non-comparative and comparative (unsurpassed or superiority) sensory claims to communicate to consumers about sensory attributes and how they compare to other brands. However, food manufacturers cannot do so without the proper data to support them. Sensory and consumer perception studies can be used to provide the needed data to support sensory claims in a court of law. However, researchers must ensure data used to support these claims are defendable by a sound research plan which includes representative products tested by a suitable sample size of representative users in key geographical areas. Food companies spend thousands of dollars per year on sensory tests to specifically support food product claims. However, is this research worthy of investment by food companies when the risk, the likelihood of a challenge by competitors, consumers or public interest groups, may be high? Standards for conducting tests to support sensory claims were reviewed. Additionally, challenges of sensory claims were examined to determine the risk by claim type. Parallels from industry standards, sensory and advertising law experts, and cases from the National Advertising Division were drawn to assess the risk associated with different types of food claims and the likelihood of being challenged. Results show that a claim is likely to be challenged if it references or draws comparisons to a competitor’s product. One hundred percent of challenges in the past ten years regarding sensory claims were led by competitors, with a majority resulting in discontinued or modified claims. Therefore, to reduce wasted resources, a food manufacture should spend the time, money and energy to properly conduct claims testing when looking to make comparative claims. Sensory scientists should also review past claims cases and extensively understand how a case is reviewed and what the review panel considers as adequate support. With this knowledge, a sensory scientist can direct which claims to focus their company’s resources on, ensure a robustly designed study, achieve a higher likelihood of succeeding any challenge from the National Advertising Division or a competitor, and thus reduce the overall risk of making a claim. Further research connecting each claim type to actual revenue would be of interest. This information is limited as it lies within each company and may be a moving target as marketplaces and consumer preferences evolve over time.

Please read the abstract in the front section of this document. / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar (Food Production and Processing))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Food Science / unrestricted

A scale consisting of eight suggestions worded with specific sensory predicates was administered to a large undergraduate introductory psychology class. Following the presentation of the suggestions, Self-Scoring Forms were filled out to assess the subjects' response to auditory (A), visual (V), and kinesthetic (K) suggestions. prior to the conclusion of the session, subjects were asked to write a brief essay describing their experience of the suggestion portion of the session. Subject essays were content analyzed for the use of predicates (including, but not only A, V, and K). Frequency of usage of A, V, and K predicates were compared with responses to A, V, and K suggestions to determine the amount of consistency between preference for the use of a specific category of sensory predicates and responsiveness suggestions worded in similar language. No significant correlations between the use of specific sensory predicates and response to specific sensory suggestions were found.

This research focused on studying the sensory quality of low fat bacon when pale, soft and exudative (PSE) pork is used during processing. Low fat bacon is different from normal bacon in that the amount of visible fat in low fat bacon has been reduced. This is as a result of consumer interest in weight control and cholesterol, creating a demand for meat and meat products with reduced fat levels. PSE pork is a condition in which certain muscles are very pale, soft and watery. It is produced when the rate of post-mortem glycolysis is fast and a high level of acidity is reached while the carcass temperature is still high. Different researchers have reported that PSE pork absorbs less brine during curing and this may have a negative effect on the sensory quality and acceptance of both the uncooked and cooked finished products as it is mainly the curing brine that is responsible for the development of the typical colour, flavour, aroma and texture associated with cured meat products. Thirty pig carcasses, 15 PSE and 15 normal pH, suitable for production of low fat bacon, were selected over a period of three weeks at an abattoir in Olifantsfontein to study the effect of PSE meat on the sensory quality of low fat bacon. The carcasses were further processed into low fat bacon at a meat processing plant. Data were collected on the % brine uptake of PSE and normal pH meat after curing; the rating scores on the descriptive sensory attributes of both PSE and normal pH low fat bacon and the % salt concentration and residual nitrite of PSE and normal pH low fat bacon. A consumer test to determine the buying preferences for packaged PSE and normal pH low fat bacon and the eating quality preferences of cooked PSE and normal pH low fat bacon was also conducted. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was found in the % brine uptake between PSE and normal pH meat. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in the descriptive sensory attributes of PSE and normal pH low fat bacon. The residual nitrite concentration of normal pH low fat bacon was significantly higher than that of PSE low fat bacon. There was however no significant difference (p > 0.05) in the % salt concentration of PSE and normal pH low fat bacon. Correlation matrices showed significant positive correlations (p ≤ 0.05) between % brine uptake and % salt concentration and between % salt concentration and perceived saltiness of normal pH low fat bacon. For PSE low fat bacon, the correlations between % brine uptake and % salt concentration and between % salt concentration and perceived saltiness was not significant. The correlation between % brine uptake and residual nitrite content was however not significant (p > 0.05) for both the PSE and normal pH low fat bacon. A significantly higher number of consumers indicated that they would prefer to buy samples representing PSE low fat bacon. The pale colour of PSE meat was not masked after curing, which was noticed by the consumers during the evaluation of buying preferences for PSE and normal pH packaged low fat bacon. However, regarded as even more important than colour, the consumers mentioned fat content as the main deciding factor for purchasing low fat bacon. No significant difference (p > 0.05) was found in the preference for the eating quality of cooked PSE and normal pH low fat bacon. It was concluded that PSE meat can successfully be used to produce low fat bacon products of consistent quality. This conclusion is drawn from the analytical sensory test results, where the use of PSE meat did not affect the sensory quality characteristics of low fat bacon. For low fat bacon, fat content is an important factor, regarded as very influential to consumers when making purchases. It is therefore important to produce products with consistent fat content according to specifications. / Dissertation (M Inst Agrar ( Food Production and Processing))--University of Pretoria, 2002. / Food Science / unrestricted