JFS S: Sensory and Nutritive Qualities of Food

Consumer Sensory Analysis of Organically and Conventionally Grown Vegetables

XIN ZHAO, EDGAR CHAMBERS IV, ZIAD MATTA, THOMAS M. LOUGHIN, AND EDWARD E. CAREY
ABSTRACT: Consumers of organically grown fruits and vegetables often believe that these products taste better than conventional produce. However, comparison of produce from supermarket shelves does not permit adequate assessment of this consumer perception, given potentially confounding cultivar and environmental effects. We used replicated side-by-side plots to produce organic and conventional vegetables for consumer sensory studies. In one test, red loose leaf lettuce, spinach, arugula, and mustard greens, grown organically and conventionally, were evaluated for overall liking as well as for intensity of flavor and bitterness. Another consumer test was conducted comparing organically and conventionally grown tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Overall, organically and conventionally grown vegetables did not show significant differences in consumer liking or consumer-perceived sensory quality. The only exception was in tomatoes where the conventionally produced tomato was rated as having significantly stronger flavor than the organically produced tomato. However, overall liking was the same for both organic and conventional samples. As conventional tomatoes also were scored marginally significantly higher in ripeness and a positive correlation was found between ratings of flavor intensity and ripeness, the flavor difference observed could not be simply ascribed to the contrasting growing conditions. Consumer panelists in both tests considered organic produce to be healthier (72%) and more environmentally friendly (51%) than conventional produce, while 28% considered organic produce to have better taste. Covariance analysis indicated that consumer demographics affected sensory comparisons of organic and conventional lettuce and cucumbers. Future study is needed to substantiate the influence of segmentation of consumers on their preference for organic food. Keywords: consumer demographics, consumer liking, production method, sensory quality

Introduction

MS 20060213 Submitted 4/14/2006. Accepted 12/14/2006. Authors Zhao and Carey are with Dept. of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506. Authors Chambers and Matta are with Dept. of Human Nutrition, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506, U.S.A. Author Loughin is with Dept. of Statistics, Kansas State Univ., Manhattan, KS 66506. Direct inquiries to author Carey (E-mail: tcarey@ksu.edu).

C 2007 Institute of Food Technologists doi: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2007.00277.x

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rganic food has become a top consumer trend in the United States (Sloan 2003) and sales of organic food grew over 20% annually from 1990 (Dimitri and Greene 2002). Although there is no official claim of better quality for organically produced food than its conventional counterpart (The U.S. National Organic Program, www.ams.usda.gov/nop), expanding consumer demand reflects consumer perceptions of organic foods as more environmentally friendly (Goldman and Clancy 1991; Wandel and Bugge 1997), safer (Jolly and others 1989), and more nutritious and healthpromoting than conventional foods (Makatouni 2002; Magnusson and others 2003). Additionally, many organic buyers believe that organic produce tastes better than conventionally grown produce. According to the Hartman Group survey (2000), after health consciousness, taste was the 2nd most important factor determining consumer choice. Despite consumer perceptions of superior taste of organic food, sensory evaluations of organically and conventionally grown vegetables and fruits have yielded inconsistent results. Consumer taste tests on 5 fruits (orange, grapefruit, banana, mango, and white grape) and 4 vegetables (tomato, spinach, carrot, and sweet corn) grown organically and conventionally did not show consistent results and few significant differences were detected (Basker 1992). Triangle

tests also failed to distinguish organic from conventional bananas (Caussiol and Joyce 2004). Over a 2-y period, trained panelists consistently rated conventionally grown carrots as having better carrot taste than ecologically grown carrots, which tasted more bitter (Haglund and others 1999). A previous sensory descriptive analysis of carrots had demonstrated that organic or low-rate mineral fertilization resulted in higher total flavor strength as compared to highrate mineral fertilization (Hogstad and others 1997). Apples from organic, conventional, and integrated production systems did not differ in overall acceptance as rated by untrained sensory panels, but organic apples were reported to be sweeter and less tart (Reganold and others 2001). Studies comparing taste and other quality aspects of organic and conventional produce are subject to a number of potential confounding effects from both production and postharvest factors (Bourn and Prescott 2002; Harker 2004). Confounding production factors include effects of cultivar, fertilization, soils, and microclimates, and postharvest factors include handling, storage, and processing. Given mixed results from previous studies, well-designed experiments involving a wide range of vegetables and fruits are needed. Consumer hedonic tests typically require 75 to 150 consumers as an appropriate sample size (Lawless and Heymann 1999) and recent data indicate panels of around 100 provide a panel size necessary to appropriately determine differences from a statistical standpoint (Hough and others 2006). However, most consumer tests evaluating organic and conventional vegetables and fruits have had smaller sample sizes (Basker 1992; Wszelake and others 2005). The objective of this study was to use well-controlled experimental production systems and consumer tests to assess differences in taste between organic and conventional vegetables. To provide a broad

Sensory analysis of grown vegetables . . .

examination of the impact of production method on sensory quality, a variety of vegetables, including lettuce, spinach, arugula, mustard green, tomato, cucumber, and onion, were evaluated. As a secondary goal, we also examined whether some consumer demographics and preconceptions of panelists influenced assessments of organic versus conventional produce. Cucumber fruits used for sensory analysis were harvested on August 12. Pyrethrin (PyGanic) (McLaughlin Gormley King Co., Golden Valley, Minn., U.S.A.) sprays were used in organic plots, and permethrin (Pounce 3.0 EC) (FMC Corp., Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.A.) sprays were used in conventional plots to control cucumber beetles.

Production of onion

Materials and Methods

Vegetable production environment
Six 9.8 6.1 m high tunnels with 1.5-m sidewalls (Stuppy, North Kansas City, Mo., U.S.A.) were used for vegetable production at the Kansas State Univ. Horticulture Research and Extension Center, Olathe. The soil was a Kennebec silt loam. The tunnels were covered with a single layer of 6-mil (0.153-mm) polyethylene. The 6 high tunnels were divided into 3 groups (blocks), and the 2 high tunnels in each block were randomly assigned organic or conventional management treatments starting in May 2002. The organic plots were inspected and certified in 2003. Rates of fertilizer application were based on soil tests and crop requirements, and organic fertilizer (compost) rates were typically double those of conventional fertilizer to compensate for lower nitrogen availability, assuming 50% of the total nitrogen in compost would be available during the season.

Onion (Allium cepa cv. Candy) seedlings were transplanted on April 1, 2005. Each plot consisted of 40 plants on 4 rows, with 0.15-m distance between plants. Organic tunnel plots were fertilized with preplant incorporated verimicompost at a rate of 134 kg N/ha, while conventional plots were fertilized with preplant incorporated ammonium sulfate at a rate of 67 kg N/ha. Onion plots were irrigated as needed and fertigated weekly, starting 10 wk after planting, with fish emulsion (organic plots) or calcium nitrate (conventional plots) at a rate of 3.4 kg N/ha each. Bulbs were harvested on July 25.

Sample preparation for sensory evaluation

At harvest, samples from production blocks were combined and thoroughly mixed to produce bulk organic and conventional samples for consumer tests. For the leafy greens, harvested leaves were placed in food storage containers, moistened with water, and immediately packed on ice in coolers for transport to the Sensory Analysis Center at Kansas State Univ. within 2 h. Upon arrival, samples were stored at 4 o C overnight. The next morning (day of consumer test), samples were gently rinsed under tap water, laid flat and air dried for about 15 min, and then held in food storage containers at ambient temperature (22 to 26 o C). At the time of evaluation, 2 to 3 leaves with similar size from each sample were placed in 0.163-L polystyrene cups labeled with a random 3-digit code. In the 2nd consumer test, before sampling, harvested onions were cured for about 2 wk; harvested cucumbers and tomatoes were stored for 4 d at 4 o C and ambient temperature, respectively. On the day of test, cucumbers were peeled and then sliced on a mandoline just before serving. Tomatoes were cut into thin round slices about 6-mm thick and then into halves before serving. The onions were diced into small pieces about 6 mm and placed into a bowl covered with a plastic wrap. The serving sizes were 2 slices for cucumber and tomato and a small spoonful for onion. Paired (organic and conventional) samples were placed onto polystyrene plates that were divided in half, labeled with 3-digit codes.

Production of leafy greens

Leafy greens were planted on March 11, 2005. Loose leaf lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. New Red Fire), spinach (Spinacia oleracea cv. 7-Green), arugula (Eruca vesicaria subsp. sativa cv. Arugula), and mustard greens (Brassica juncea cv. Red Giant) were direct seeded on 4.6 0.6 m beds with a 4-row precision hand seeder (Sembdner Maschinenbau GmbH), with a spacing of 0.06 m between rows. Beds in organically managed tunnels received preplant incorporated applications of Hu-More 1-1-1 (composted cattle manure and alfalfa hay; Humalfa Inc., Shattuck, Okla., U.S.A.) at a rate of 134 kg N/ha, while beds in conventionally managed tunnels received preplant applications of NPK 13-13-13 fertilizer at a rate of 67 kg N/ha. Starting 5 wk after seeding, organic plots were fertigated (application of nutrients through drip irrigation systems) with fish emulsion 5-1-1 (Lilly Miller Brands, Clackamas, Ore., U.S.A.) at a rate of 5.6 kg N/ha at 5-d intervals. Conventional plots were fertigated with calcium nitrate (15.5-0-0) at a rate of 5.6 kg N/ha at 5-d intervals on the same dates. No pesticide was applied in either production system. All 4 vegetables were harvested on May 9 at baby size suitable for salad mix, or slightly larger in the case of spinach.

Consumer sensory analysis

Consumer tests were carried out at the Sensory Analysis Center at Kansas State Univ. Consumers were aged 18 to 60 y, had lived in the United States for at least 10 y, and reported no food allergies. The 100 consumers in the test of leafy greens reported consuming leafy vegetables at least 2 to 3 times weekly, and the 106 consumers in the other test met the criteria of eating cucumbers at least 1 to 2 times weekly and tomatoes and onions 3 to 4 times weekly. Each consumer test was conducted in several sessions during the day, with a variable number of consumers per session. For the test of leafy greens, each session consisted of 4 rounds, and the other test had 3 rounds in each session. A round consisted of a pair of organic and conventional samples of one type of vegetable presented to consumers simultaneously. On the ballot the instruction stated Taste the sample on your left hand side first. Answer questions below under left sample/retaste if necessary. Take a bite of the cracker and rinse your palate with water. Taste the sample on your right hand side. Answer questions below under right sample/retaste if necessary. The leftright serving sequence was counterbalanced for organic and conventional samples. The serving order of vegetables was also rotated to reduce potential bias caused by positions;

Production of tomato and cucumber

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Florida 91) was transplanted in 4-plant plots with black plastic mulch in high tunnels on May 26, 2005. Plants were placed at a 0.6-m spacing and supported with cages made from a concrete reinforcing wire. Organically and conventionally managed plots received preplant incorporated verimicompost at a rate of 134 kg N/ha and ammonium sulfate at a rate of 67 kg N/ha. Plots were irrigated as needed. Starting 4 wk after transplanting, organic plots were fertigated weekly for 10 wk with fish emulsion at a rate of 3.4 kg N/ha and conventional plots were fertigated with ammonium sulfate at a rate of 3.4 kg N/ha. Tomato fruits used for sensory analysis were harvested on August 12 at the full-ripe stage. Fruit worms were controlled through applications of organic or conventional formulations of spinosad. Cucumber (Cucumis sativus cv. Tasty Jade) was direct seeded in 5-plant plots (0.6-m spacing between plants) in organically and conventionally managed high tunnel plots on May 26, 2005. Preplant fertilizer and fertigation treatments were the same as for tomato.
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however, in the leafy green test, arugula and mustard greens were always tasted after lettuce and spinach because of their stronger flavor. In the other test, onion was always tasted last because of its pungency. Consumers were asked to score (1) overall liking on a 9-point hedonic scale, that is , 9 = like extremely, 5 = neither like nor dislike, 1 = dislike extremely; (2) intensity of overall flavor on a 7-point scale, that is, 7 = extremely strong, 1 = barely any flavor; and (3) intensities of bitterness/sweetness on a 7-point scale, that is, 7 = extremely bitter/sweet, 1 = not bitter/sweet at all. In the case of tomatoes, ripeness instead of bitterness/sweetness was rated on a 7-point scale, that is, 7 = extremely ripe, 1 = not ripe at all. Different lengths of scales were used to help the consumers differentiate liking from intensity scales. After sensory evaluation, consumers were asked to answer demographic questions (multiple choice), which included gender, age, frequency of fresh vegetable consumption, perceptions of organic fruits and vegetables, and frequency of organic food consumption. data, we consistently found no significant difference in acceptance and no statistical differences in strength of flavor properties. Inspection of results with relatively low, but nonsignificant P-values (lower than 0.20) did not show consistent tendencies, with slightly higher values in flavor strength for organically grown lettuce, but the reverse for arugula. It should be noted that both arugula and mustard greens were disliked by consumers. The special biting pungency of those greens, which clearly was not appreciated by consumers in this study, may influence the ability of consumers to focus on potential differences. In the test of tomato, cucumber, and onion, in addition to overall liking and flavor intensity, ripeness of tomato, bitterness of cucumber, and sweetness of onion were scored by consumers. Comparisons of organic cucumbers and onions with their conventional counterparts did not yield any significant differences (Table 2). With regard to tomatoes, although the degree of overall liking was the same for organic and conventional samples, conventional tomatoes were scored significantly higher in overall flavor intensity, which was consistent with the marginally significantly higher consumer ratings of ripeness for conventional samples (P = 0.06). Partial correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation between flavor intensity and ripeness; however, it was low (r = 0.24, P < 0.01). Further study involving tagging of flowers at anthesis and repeated sampling during ripening would be required to determine whether the differential ripeness scores between organic and conventional tomatoes were due to production methods. Tomatoes are subject to multiple physiological disorders during the fruit developmental process (Swiader and Ware 2002), some of which are poorly understood, so it is possible that differences in production environment could affect rate of ripening. It has been demonstrated that ripening stage of fruit can markedly influence the perceived flavor of tomato. Compared with tomatoes picked when fully ripened, tomatoes harvested earlier followed by after ripening were tasted to have less tomato-like flavor and even more off-flavor (Kader and others 1977). A previous consumer study comparing an array of organic and conventional fruits and vegetables observed that the optimum maturity of tested samples could possibly direct the consumer preference irrespective of growing conditions (Basker 1992). Various factors could affect sensory analysis of organic compared with conventional produce. Sensory attributes of carrots were found to be affected by variety and year in addition to growing conditions (Haglund and others 1999). The influence of variety on sensory attributes of tomatoes was actually greater than that of production methods (Johansson and others 1999). Lower fertilizer rates,

Statistical analysis
Data from consumer testing were analyzed using SAS (Version 9.1, Cary, N.C., U.S.A.). To take into account potential carryover effects due to leftright position for each vegetable, or due to the serving order of vegetables, position and serving order data were incorporated into the analysis of the consumer data. Analysis of variance was performed for each vegetable individually using the GLM procedure, where effects of production method, serving position, and serving order, and interactions among these effects, were included in the model. Significant differences were determined at the 95% confidence level (P < 0.05). Partial correlation was also computed between the ratings of flavor intensity and ripeness for tomatoes, adjusting for all model effects, to explore inherent relationships among panelists responses. In addition, a post hoc analysis of covariance was performed to explore relationships between demographic information and the consumer ratings of overall liking.

Results and Discussion

onsumer sensory analysis of organically and conventionally grown lettuce, spinach, arugula, and mustard greens did not show any significant difference with respect to overall liking, overall flavor intensity, and bitterness intensity (Table 1). A stronger flavor (Hogstad and others 1997) and more bitter taste (Haglund and others 1999) in organically grown carrots have been reported. In our
Table 1 --- Mean rating scores (least square means from the model) from a consumer panel comparing organically and conventionally grown leafy greensa Vegetable Lettuce Production method Overall likingb 5.0 5.4 0.11 6.3 6.3 0.94 2.9 2.8 0.70 2.7 3.0 0.42 Flavor intensityc 4.5 4.2 0.16 3.8 3.7 0.72 6.3 6.5 0.15 6.6 6.5 0.70 Bitterness intensityc 4.4 3.9 0.10 2.3 2.2 0.75 5.5 5.7 0.37 5.3 5.2 0.56

Table 2 --- Mean rating scores (least square means from the model) from a consumer panel comparing organically and conventionally grown tomatoes, cucumbers, and onionsa Vegetable Tomato Production method Overall likingb 7.0 7.0 0.90 7.1 7.0 0.73 6.7 6.7 0.82 Flavor intensityc 4.6 5.0 0.02 4.1 4.0 0.59 5.7 5.9 0.41 Other attributecd 4.7 5.0 0.06 2.3 2.2 0.66 3.6 3.5 0.65

extremely, 1 = dislike extremely. On a 7-point scale, that is , 7 = extremely strong or bitter, 1 = barely any avor or not bitter at all.

a Samples were scored by 100 consumers. b On a 9-point hedonic scale, that is, 9 = like c

extremely, 1 = dislike extremely. On a 7-point scale, that is , 7 = extremely strong, ripe, bitter, sweet, 1 = barely any avor, not at all ripe, bitter, sweet. d Other attribute: tomato = ripeness; cucumber = bitterness; onion = sweetness.

a Samples were scored by 106 consumers. b On a 9-point hedonic scale, that is , 9 = like c

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Organic Conventional P-value (N = 100) Spinach Organic Conventional P-value (N = 100) Arugula Organic Conventional P-value (N = 100) Mustard green Organic Conventional P-value (N = 100)

Organic Conventional P-value (N = 106) Cucumber Organic Conventional P-value (N = 106) Onion Organic Conventional P-value (N = 106)

Sensory analysis of grown vegetables . . .

irrespective of fertilizer type, resulted in increased flavor intensity of carrots (Hogstad and others 1997). Postharvest factors may also matter. Based on a preliminary study we conducted, any potential differences in overall liking between organic and conventional samples tended to diminish after 1 wk of storage. Moreover, given the variance of organic farming systems within and across regions, sensory comparisons between organic and conventional vegetables and fruits become far more complicated. After each sensory test, consumers were requested to answer demographic questions. When asked about the perception of organic vegetables and fruits, on average 72.4% in both consumer panels believed that organic produce was more nutritious and healthy, and 51.4% related environmental benefits to organic produce (Table 3). This was not unexpected as consumer surveys have demonstrated that perceptions of health benefits outweighed environmental concerns as the primary reason for pursuing organic foods (Magnusson and others 2003; Shepherd and others 2005). Better taste ranked 3rd among characteristics of organic produce perceived by consumers in our study, but with lower numbers of consumers having this perception. Exploratory covariance analysis identified differential impacts of consumer demographics on the degree of overall liking in the tests on lettuce and cucumbers (Tables 4 and 5). For lettuce, consumers younger than 25 significantly preferred the conventional sample, whereas other consumers expressed similar liking for both samples (data not shown). For cucumber, the interaction of consumer gender by growing method was marginally significant (P = 0.06). Male consumers tended to favor conventionally grown cucumber (P = 0.19), while females liked organic cucumber better (P = 0.15) (data not shown). Consumers who believed that organic produce had better taste (based on the demographic questionnaire) actually tended to score conventional cucumbers higher in overall liking (P = 0.12), while organic cucumbers tended to be liked more by consumers who did not initially believe organic produce tasted better (P = 0.13) (data not shown). A recent sensory analysis of different varieties of organically grown edamame-type soybean suggested that consumer hedonic ratings may be gender-dependent (Wszelaki and others 2005). Given relatively low numbers (less than 100) for each specific consumer segment, our results must be considered exploratory at this point. Indeed, given the large number (63) of tests performed in the covariance analysis, the occurrence of some false significant results is to be expected. In future studies it may be advisable to increase panel size in order to provide larger numbers for specific consumer segments when comparing organic versus conventional fruits and vegetables. In our experiment, consumers conducted blind tests with no previous information about the samples to be tasted. However, labeling effects may affect evaluation of consumer preference for organic and conventional products. Sensory studies combining blind tests, and tests when samples were marked with information of production method, or labeled with correct and false information, respectively, indicated that the organic label can lead to a significant increase of consumer ratings (Schutz and Lorenz 1976; von Alvensleben and Meier 1990). The influence of product information on consumer preference may also be conditional as shown by a consumer study on ecologically and conventionally grown tomatoes. The positive impact of ecologic labeling was less effective for tomatoes that received high ratings in a blind test (Johansson and others 1999).

Conclusions
onsumer sensory analysis of a number of different types of vegetables produced in our carefully managed, replicated plots did not show significant differences between organically and conventionally grown vegetables in overall liking or for intensity of overall
Table 4 --- P-values showing signicance of differential impact of consumer demographics on consumer overall liking of organic versus conventional leafy greens Lettuce Spinach Arugula Characteristics of consumers Gender 0.62 0.76 Age 0.05 0.90 Fresh vegetable 0.79 0.48 consumption Organic food consumption 0.53 0.59 Perception of organic vegetables and fruits More nutritious and healthy 0.97 0.74 Better taste 0.82 0.37 Better for environment 0.70 0.61 Fresher, longer shelf life 0.62 0.51 Same as conventional 0.49 0.58 0.87 0.66 0.99 0.88 0.73 0.75 0.98 0.80 1.0 Mustard green 0.75 0.97 0.88 0.85 0.45 0.83 0.41 0.96 0.55

Table 3 --- Demographic information about consumers participating in sensory analyses comparing organically and conventionally grown vegetables (percent) Characteristic Gender Age Category female male >50 4050 2540 <25 once or more daily 46 times/week 23 times/week daily more than once a week once a week 13 times a month never more nutritious and healthy better taste better for environment fresher, longer shelf life same as conventional Panel 1a 64.0 36.0 10.0 23.0 26.0 41.0 38.0 45.0 17.0 3.0 14.0 16.0 36.0 31.0 74.0 20.0 50.0 4.0 18.0 Panel 2b 56.6 43.4 19.8 23.6 17.0 39.6 32.1 47.2 20.7 3.8 23.6 18.9 35.8 17.9 70.8 36.8 52.8 8.5 13.2

a Data presented are P-values for interactions of consumer characteristic by growing method in the analysis of covariance.

Fresh vegetable consumption Organic food consumption

Table 5 --- P-values showing signicance of differential impact of consumer demographics on consumer overall liking of organic versus conventional tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions Tomato Characteristics of consumers Gender 0.46 Age 0.39 Fresh vegetable consumption 0.15 Organic food consumption 0.53 Perception of organic vegetables and fruits More nutritious and healthy 0.43 Better taste 0.97 Better for environment 0.68 Fresher, longer shelf life 0.98 Same as conventional 0.19 Cucumber 0.06 0.09 0.18 0.42 0.45 0.03 0.33 0.98 0.14 Onion 0.59 0.78 0.26 0.38 0.78 0.47 0.99 0.92 0.98

S: Sensory & Nutritive Qualities of Food

Perception of organic vegetables and fruitsc

a 100 b

consumers participated in the taste test on leafy greens. 106 consumers participated in the other taste test on tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. c Consumers were allowed to have multiple answers to this question.

a Data presented are P-values for interactions of consumer characteristic by growing method in the analysis of covariance.

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flavor and bitterness (or sweetness) in most vegetables tested. Significant results for flavor intensity occurred only in the evaluation of tomatoes, an effect that appeared to be related to differences in ripeness between organic and conventional. Demographic characterization of our consumer panel showed that panelists perceived health and environmental benefits as the 2 major characteristics of organic produce, followed by taste. Covariance analysis indicated possible influences of consumer demographics on sensory comparisons of organic and conventional lettuce and cucumbers. Further studies are needed to confirm and investigate the extent to which consumer segments have higher preference for organic products.
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the grant from the U.S. Organic Farming Research Foundation. Contribution number 07-30-J of the Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station. We also thank Alisa Doan for her assistance with the consumer sensory study on tomato, cucumber, and onion.

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