What's (in) a real smoothie. A division of linguistic labour in consumers' acceptance of name-product combinations?

Is being, say, a macaroon or a smoothie a matter of what these products look and taste like and how they feel in the mouth? Or is it a matter of which ingredients have been used and how they have been processed? Will ordinary consumers always rely on their own judgment in such matters, or delegate the final judgment to experts of some sort? The present experimental study addressed these issues in combination by testing the limits for consumers' acceptance of three different name-product combinations when exposed to taste samples alone (sensory product attributes), taste samples in combination with ingredients lists and nutrition facts (adding factual information), and both, in combination with authoritative definitions (adding experts' final judgments). The examples were modelled around authentic cases from the Danish food market which have been subject to vast legal as well as public concern. The results provide new insights into the socio-cognitive dynamics behind consumers' acceptance or rejection of specific name-product combinations and new leads for supporting the fairness of food naming practices with a view also to the product type, the stage it has reached in its life-cycle, and its degree of familiarity on the market.

A model for communication of sensory quality in the seafood processing chain.

Sensory quality has a key influence of consumer perception of a product. It is therefore of great importance for the processing industry that the sensory quality fulfils the expectations of the consumer. Sensory evaluations are the ultimate tool to measure and communicate sensory quality, but it is generally not fully implemented in the chain from catch to consumer. The importance of communicating sensory demands and results from evaluations in the seafood processing chain is described and a Seafood Sensory Quality Model (SSQM) is suggested as a communication tool.

Variation in sensory profile of individual rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from the same production batch.

The variation in sensory profile of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), belonging to the same aquaculture production batch and handled the same way, was explored by using objective sensory profiling on heat-treated minced fillets. In addition, quality index, mechanical texture, pH, fat, and water content were measured. Different groups of fish were sampled 3 different times during a production day. The results showed significant differences in the sensory profiles of individual fish within all 3 groups as well as significant differences between the groups. Differences in mechanical texture were found between individuals in 2 of the 3 groups and between the groups. No differences were found in quality index neither between individuals nor groups. A significant negative correlation between lipid content and firm texture was observed, but in general, the chemical and physical measurements could not explain the differences in the sensory profiling or in the mechanical texture measurements. The results showed that significant differences in the sensory profiles of individual fish from the same aquaculture production batch may occur. Furthermore, the results also showed sensory differences between groups of samples taken at different times during a production day.