External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice
In a pre-purchase situation, consumer perception of mandarin quality is almost exclusively based on fruit appearance. Determination of consumer requirements in this regard is needed to preserve the current success of this crop in markets worldwide. In this study, the effect on consumer choice of dif...
| Autores principales: | , , , |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
| Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/7668 https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/9/2188 |
| _version_ | 1855492336305307648 |
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| author | Tarancón, Paula Tárrega, Amparo González, Mónica Besada, Cristina |
| author_browse | Besada, Cristina González, Mónica Tarancón, Paula Tárrega, Amparo |
| author_facet | Tarancón, Paula Tárrega, Amparo González, Mónica Besada, Cristina |
| author_sort | Tarancón, Paula |
| collection | ReDivia |
| description | In a pre-purchase situation, consumer perception of mandarin quality is almost exclusively based on fruit appearance. Determination of consumer requirements in this regard is needed to preserve the current success of this crop in markets worldwide. In this study, the effect on consumer choice of different appearance characteristics that can occur mainly in early-season mandarins was quantified. Two independent Choice-Based Conjoint Analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of different external mandarin factors: (1) two factors linked mainly with harvesting practices: ‘Leaf’ (no leaves but sound calyx/fresh leaf/dehydrated leaf) and ‘Rind Colour’ (orange colour/rind with slightly greenish areas); (2) three factors related to postharvest handling: ‘Calyx Condition’ (sound/blackening/detached),’Waxing’ (absence/presence of wax), and ‘Rind Condition’ (dehydrated/turgid). A total of 280 consumers participated in each study. The evaluation of the factors linked with harvesting revealed four different choice patterns. Leaf presence was appreciated only by a small group of consumers (20%), and the presence of greenish areas on the rind was perceived mostly as a negative characteristic. Among the evaluated postharvest-related factors, ‘Waxing’ and ‘Calyx condition’ had the strongest effect on consumer choice. Consumers showed marked preferences for mandarins that had been waxed and presented shine and gloss. Calyx blackening and detachment had a negative effect mainly on waxed fruit, while rind dehydration more negatively affected the fruit that had not been waxed. Consumer perception of mandarin quality is importantly affected by external mandarin characteristics. The information herein reported can be very useful for the citrus industry for adapting quality control criteria that respond to consumer demands. |
| format | Artículo |
| id | ReDivia7668 |
| institution | Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publishDateRange | 2021 |
| publishDateSort | 2021 |
| publisher | MDPI |
| publisherStr | MDPI |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ReDivia76682025-04-25T14:48:28Z External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice Tarancón, Paula Tárrega, Amparo González, Mónica Besada, Cristina Choice-based conjoint analysis Rind colour Rind turgor E73 Consumer economics J10 Handling, transport, storage and protection of agricultural products Q01 Food science and technology Q02 Food processing and preservation Q04 Food composition Calyx Waxing Coating Leaf In a pre-purchase situation, consumer perception of mandarin quality is almost exclusively based on fruit appearance. Determination of consumer requirements in this regard is needed to preserve the current success of this crop in markets worldwide. In this study, the effect on consumer choice of different appearance characteristics that can occur mainly in early-season mandarins was quantified. Two independent Choice-Based Conjoint Analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of different external mandarin factors: (1) two factors linked mainly with harvesting practices: ‘Leaf’ (no leaves but sound calyx/fresh leaf/dehydrated leaf) and ‘Rind Colour’ (orange colour/rind with slightly greenish areas); (2) three factors related to postharvest handling: ‘Calyx Condition’ (sound/blackening/detached),’Waxing’ (absence/presence of wax), and ‘Rind Condition’ (dehydrated/turgid). A total of 280 consumers participated in each study. The evaluation of the factors linked with harvesting revealed four different choice patterns. Leaf presence was appreciated only by a small group of consumers (20%), and the presence of greenish areas on the rind was perceived mostly as a negative characteristic. Among the evaluated postharvest-related factors, ‘Waxing’ and ‘Calyx condition’ had the strongest effect on consumer choice. Consumers showed marked preferences for mandarins that had been waxed and presented shine and gloss. Calyx blackening and detachment had a negative effect mainly on waxed fruit, while rind dehydration more negatively affected the fruit that had not been waxed. Consumer perception of mandarin quality is importantly affected by external mandarin characteristics. The information herein reported can be very useful for the citrus industry for adapting quality control criteria that respond to consumer demands. 2021-10-18T10:08:13Z 2021-10-18T10:08:13Z 2021 article publishedVersion Tarancón, P., Tárrega, A., González, M. & Besada, C. (2021). External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice. Foods, 10(9), 2188. 2304-8158 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/7668 10.3390/foods10092188 https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/9/2188 en info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ERDF/POCV 2014-2020/51910 This study (IVIA project number 51910) has been co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) of the Generalitat Valenciana 2014–2020. Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ openAccess MDPI electronico |
| spellingShingle | Choice-based conjoint analysis Rind colour Rind turgor E73 Consumer economics J10 Handling, transport, storage and protection of agricultural products Q01 Food science and technology Q02 Food processing and preservation Q04 Food composition Calyx Waxing Coating Leaf Tarancón, Paula Tárrega, Amparo González, Mónica Besada, Cristina External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice |
| title | External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice |
| title_full | External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice |
| title_fullStr | External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice |
| title_full_unstemmed | External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice |
| title_short | External Quality of Mandarins: Influence of Fruit Appearance Characteristics on Consumer Choice |
| title_sort | external quality of mandarins influence of fruit appearance characteristics on consumer choice |
| topic | Choice-based conjoint analysis Rind colour Rind turgor E73 Consumer economics J10 Handling, transport, storage and protection of agricultural products Q01 Food science and technology Q02 Food processing and preservation Q04 Food composition Calyx Waxing Coating Leaf |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/7668 https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/9/2188 |
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