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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Traditional agricultural and agri-food products are at the center of attention as instruments for
enhancing agricultural and rural development. These products are seen as a central element in
space planning, landscape preservation and nature conservation, and in combating depopulation of
poor rural areas (Tibério et al., 2008). This research was based on data from a survey on the
consumption preferences of goat cheese from Trás-os-Montes region, Portugal. The study was
developed within the ProDeR Project - PA 49.481, measure 4.1 - Cooperation for Innovation -
Development of “Serrana” goat cheese with extra-long maturation as a result of a partnership
between a research unit and a cooperative.
The objectives of the study were to identify the consumer profile, cheese consumption habits and
to compare consumers' perception about the characteristics of cheeses with different maturation
periods (2, 7 and 12 months). To achieve these objectives, a quantitative, analytical, cross-sectional
and observational study was developed based on a sample of 155 consumers who went to a
supermarket in Bragança on May 28 and 29, 2015. To collect the data, a questionnaire was used
with questions about the characteristics of the consumer, the frequency of cheese consumption
and the sensorial perceptions of consumers (appearance, aroma, taste, perception of fat content,
hardness, and perception of content of salt) of the 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. 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
data treatment was carried out using SPSS 23.0 and involved the use of descriptive statistics to
identify the consumers’ profile and their cheese consumption habits; and the Friedman test was used to verify if there were statistically significant differences between the three cheeses at a
significance level of 1%.
Consumers’ age varied between 17 and 86 years old. In average, consumers were 52.9 years old (±
15.62). The majority of consumers was male (51.6%), married (53.0%), living in households with two
people (30.3%), with a net monthly household income between € 1,001 and € 3,000 (30.3%) and a
cheese frequency consumption of more than once a week (86.5%) (Table 1).
Description
Keywords
Innovation Traditional products Trás-os-Montes Consumidor Goat Cheese
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 goat cheese. p. 173-175. ISBN 978-989-96937-4-6
Publisher
Instituto Politécnico de Viseu