Cross-Cultural Differences between Italian and UK Consumer Preferences for ‘Big Top’ Nectarines in Relation to Cold Storage

Abstract

Nectarines are perishable fruits grown in Southern Europe, valued for their sensorial properties. Chilling is used in the supply chain for Northern European consumers, while Southern European consumers can access fresh, locally grown fruit or cold-stored supermarket fruit. Cold storage and fruit ripening affect texture and flavour. Here a consumer survey and hedonic testing compared the appreciation of nectarines (cv. Big Top) in Italy and at two UK sites (n = 359). Fruit was at the commercial harvest stage, or stored at 1 °C or 5 °C for seven days, then sampled after two days’ (Italy and one UK site) or four days’ (second UK site) ambient recovery. In the consumer survey, the most important factors involved in purchase decision were ripeness, texture, colour, taste and price. Named varieties were more important to Italian than UK respondents, whilst ripeness, price, taste, blemishes, aroma, and ‘best before date’ were more important in the UK. In sensory analyses, fruits at the commercial harvest stage were preferred to those stored at 1 °C. Preference for the 5 °C stored peaches depended on recovery time. Distinct clusters of peach sensorial attributes were positively or negatively linked to hedonic rating. Factors important in purchase decisions did not affect hedonic rating in the tasting.

Ppe.RPT/SSC-1: from QTL mapping to a predictive KASP test for ripening time and soluble solids concentration in peach

“…One of the main consumer complaints about peaches is the lack of sensory quality, which is mostly caused by harvesting fruits at an inadequate ripening stage 4 . The process of fruit ripening plays an important role in improving peach organoleptic quality, including increases in the soluble solids concentration (SSC) to acid ratio, softening, and aroma 5 , 6 . SSC, measured as °Brix, is often used to express sugar content and represents one of the main drivers affecting peach consumer acceptance 7 .…”

Volatile Metabolites to Assess the Onset of Chilling Injury in Fresh-Cut Nectarines

“…Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables has been universally recognized to extend protective effects against the risk of development of chronic diseases. Health benefits of food plants have been ascribed to the additive and synergistic combination of a wide range of nutrients and different bioactive components including fibers, phytochemicals, minerals and vitamins [1].…”

“…VOCs in nectarines have been widely investigated and more than 100 components have been detected, including esters, alcohols, aldehydes, terpenes and lactones [2,3]. Peaches and nectarines' flavor easily deteriorates during low-temperature storage [2] mostly due to the occurrence of chilling injury (CI), a physiological disorder which manifests as internal reddening, texture changes and the loss of flavor even before the development of visible symptoms [1][2][3]. Specifically, CI, which causes large economic losses during storage and transport [11], has been demonstrated to be closely related to the activities of PPO and POD [12].…”