Consumer evaluation of Abate Fetel pears

A reliable elevated eating quality is a prerequisite for consumer satisfaction and for motivating loyalty to a pear cultivar and a mark of origin. Fruit quality is determined by a number of factors such as growing conditions, harvesting operation, storage and shelf life. A study was conducted on 'Abate Fetel' to investigate the effect of production systems and harvest date on eating quality. A quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), test was conducted to define sensorial profiles of fruits before consumer testing. In the same period, over 200 consumers were contacted in shopping malls and asked to taste fresh-cut peeled slices of the six treatments and for each rate 'sweetness', 'pear aroma' and 'overall liking' on a scale from I (dislike extremely), to 9 (like extremely). More than 60% of consumers rated 'acceptance' of slices of four of the treatments with votes between 6 and 9 while the other two, different for harvest date, but deriving from the same production system received more than 40% of votes between 1 and 3. Panel test results showed how a production system influences pear eating attributes and consumer tests showed how these differences can be perceived by normal consumers. A reasoned plan of sensory tests could provide useful information to be spent in monitoring production and enhancing quality of pears.