Evaluating Sensory Quality of Fresh-cut Fruits and Vegetables

Abstract

Lifestyle changes in the new millennium necessitate portable, safe, nutritious and high-quality fresh-cut produce. Because people want the fresh fruits and vegetables in their diet, but do not choose to prepare it, the market niche exists. Consistent freshlike quality is what will keep consumers purchasing fresh-cut produce. Normally, flavor changes occur before the visual appearance deteriorates (Anonymous, 2000). Therefore, consumers have to feel confident they will be purchasing fresh-cut produce with good sensory quality for repeat purchasing. For the continued growth of this industry, flavor and texture changes have to be understood, and the quality must be monitored. Sensory evaluation is critical to understanding and monitoring flavor and texture changes. Such analysis can be expensive, but it is essential to understand what is happening in the mouth before correlation with instrumental methods should be attempted (Munos et al., 1991). Sensory evaluation can be used for quality assurance and quality control purposes, but instrumental methods, if available, are more economical on a routine basis. Consumer-based evaluations are subjective and depend on the pool of consumers being tested. Unless consumers are selected properly, the test can be biased (i.e., company employees do not represent the population as a whole). 13 TX307_frame_C13.fm Page 427 Monday, December 17, 2001 11:05 AM