Does the ‘Mountain Pasture Product’ Claim Affect Local Cheese Acceptability?

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the impact of “mountain pasture product” information on the acceptability of local protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese produced from the raw milk of cows grazing in mountain pastures (P) or reared in valley floor stalls (S). A total of 156 consumers (55% males, mean age 41 years) were asked to evaluate their overall liking on a 9-point hedonic scale of four samples: Cheeses P and S were presented twice with different information about the origin of the milk (cows grazing on mountain pasture or reared in a valley floor stall). Demographics, consumer habits, and opinions on mountain pasture practice (MPP), attitudes towards sustainability, and food-related behaviours (i.e., diet, food waste production, organic food, and zero food miles products purchase) were recorded and used to segment consumers. The cheeses were all considered more than acceptable, even though they were found to be significantly different in colour and texture by instrumental analyses. In the whole consumer panel, the cheese P was preferred, while in consumer segments less attentive to product characteristics, this effect was not significant. External information had a strong effect: Overall liking was significantly higher in cheeses presented as “mountain pasture product”, both in the whole panel and in consumer segments with different attitudes (except for those with a low opinion of MPP).

Consumer Liking and Value Perception of Mountain Cheese from Different Pasture Periods: Evidence for Mountain Systems Supporting Policies

“…The observed results are in accordance with other studies investigating consumer perception of mountain cheese products. Endrizzi et al (2021) reported liking scores ranging from 6.0 to 7.3 for mountain cheese produced in a similar context. Marescotti et al (2021) provided evidence about an overall, albeit small, premium price given to high-quality summer cheese and the effectiveness of promotional messages based on sensorial characteristics and the anticipated taste of cheese.…”

The Effect of Verbal and Iconic Messages in the Promotion of High-Quality Mountain Cheese: A Non-Hypothetical BDM Approach

“…The Alps are the most densely populated mountainous area of the world, however, while the populations of coastal touristic mountains and semi-urbanized foothills are growing, most of the internal valleys are suffering a slow but apparently inexorable depopulation which endangers the long-term survival of alpine communities and their economic activities [ 1 , 2 ]…”

“…In this sense, alpine livestock farming is showing one of the most alarming shifts. Farming of ruminants fed on pastures for production of milk and cheese drove the mountain economies for centuries; however, the new generations of residents have abandoned these traditional activities [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The reasons behind this defection are mainly related to the natural difficulties of mountain agriculture, due to the existence of natural and technological constraints, such as a shorter growing season, the presence of slopes, which impede the use of machinery, and poor mobile network coverage [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Sensory and Consumer Research Has a Role in Supporting Sustainability of the Food System

“…based on paper-and-pencil or online questionnaires [2,3,10,[12][13][14]17], and two (~10%) used qualitative focus group interview approaches [11,19]. Furthermore, of the nine studies that included sensory analysis, two studies exclusively applied analytical sensory evaluation techniques using trained or semi-trained sensory panels [6,18], six studies employed hedonic tests to assess acceptability using non-trained panels (consumers) [5,[7][8][9]15,16], while only one study used both [20]. Methods used in the studies demonstrate that the usual techniques of sensory and consumer research are also applicable to research on sustainable foods.…”

“…Endrizzi et al [16] studied the impact of external information, specifically a product claim "Mountain pasture product", on the overall liking for tasted cheeses (nine-point hedonic scale). The authors found that the effect of the labeling information on the liking was positive and associated with consumers' positive opinions with mountain pasture practices.…”