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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Cheese is an important food for a healthy diet. Portugal is a country with a huge tradition in the
manufacture of cheese from the use of small ruminants. Herds managed in production systems
based on pastoralism, with cycles of production according to animal physiology, shaped by the time
and the expertise of the shepherd. The production of traditional cheeses is a very strong habit in
rural communities and the study of consumer acceptance of aged cheese is an important factor for
the valorisation/competitiveness strategy. This work is based on data from a survey on the
consumption preferences of Extra Long Maturation (ELM) sheep's cheese.
The objective of the study was to identify the consumer profile, cheese consumption habits and to
compare consumers' perception about the characteristics of cheeses with different maturation
periods (6, 11 and 12 months). For this, a study was developed based on a sample of 107
consumers who went to a supermarket in Bragança on May 29, 2015 and the National Agricultural
Fair 2015, in Santarém on June 11. To collect the data, a questionnaire was used with questions
about socioeconomic characteristics of the consumer, frequency of general cheese consumption
and the sensorial perceptions of consumers about appearance, aroma and taste, in a scale 1 to 9;
and, hardness and perceived fat and salt content, in a scale 1 to 5. Data analysis was done using
SPSS 23.0 and involved the use of descriptive statistics to identify the consumers’ profile and
cheese consumption habits; and, the Friedman test to verify if there were statistically significant
differences between cheeses with different maturation periods. The three cheeses were presented
to consumers in a plastic dessert plate with the cheese code inscribed on the plate next to the slice
of cheese with 6, 11 and 12 months. Each slice was about 4 millimeters thick. There was also a plate
with three toasts, a napkin and a glass of water. Consumers were informed that they should clean
the palate between tasting each of the three cheese slices since the slices were supplied at the
same time. To cleanse the palate, consumers could turn to water and/or toasts. The majority of the participants (76.6%) consumed cheese more than once a week (Figure 1), were
male (57.9%), aged between 25 and 64 years old (77.6%), married or in a stable relationship
(48.1%), lived in households with 3 or 4 people (52.5%) with a net monthly household income
between € 1,001 and € 3,000 (44.9%) and had a higher education degree (63.6%) (Table 1).
Description
Keywords
Innovation Traditional products Cheese Sheep Trás-os-Montes Extra long maturation
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Mendonça, Álvaro; Fernandes, António; Sousa, Fernando Ruivo de; Gomes, Sandra (2018). Innovation in Trás-os-Montes traditional products: consumer perception on extra long maturation sheep cheese. In 1st International Meeting on Innovation & Development in the Food Sector. Viseu. p. 170-172. ISBN 978-989-96937-4-6
Publisher
Instituto Politécnico de Viseu