A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
The effect of freshness in a foodservice context
Authors: Tommi Kumpulainen, Mari Sandell, Pasi Junell, Anu Hopia
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Publication year: 2016
Journal: Journal of Culinary Science and Technology
Volume: 14
Issue: 2
First page : 153
Last page: 165
Number of pages: 13
ISSN: 1542-8052
eISSN: 1542-8044
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15428052.2015.1102783
The purpose of this research was to study how consumers respond to differences in the freshness of lettuce based only on sensory properties in the foodservice context. Another objective was to measure consumer response to the modification of the consumption context. Data was collected from consumer studies in two separate restaurants with three different products (n = 238). The reference sample was a packaged ready-to-eat lettuce, which was compared using two freshly prepared samples. The results indicated that consumers did recognize differences between product properties that depend on the level of freshness when served in a foodservice environment. By serving fresh products, the perceived level of sensory quality showed a significant increase.