"Ecropolis” organic taste of yoghurt - sensory insights out of the EC-project “ECROPOLIS”"

Distributors and promoters of organic food claim superior tastes for their products compared to the conventional alternative. This argument however is still subject to a hard debate and thus deserves more scientific evidence. Since repurchases are dependent on the overall liking of a product and sensory experiences may have an important impact, knowledge about these dimensions is crucial for producers and marketers of organic food to offer products which meet consumer expectations. Besides other important aspects, sensory properties as well as consumer acceptance of six different product groups (dairy-, meat-, bakery- and tomato-products, vegetable oil and apples) were analysed in detail within the EU funded project ECROPOLIS (www.ecropolis.eu) in six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, The Netherlands). In order to explain how the scientific approach of the project helps to explore product insights, dairy products represented by “natural (plain) full cram yoghurts” were chosen as an example. On the one side results of the detailed analysis are capable to show relevant information concerning sensory product properties (sensory profiles) of plain yoghurts as well as the influence of these aspects on the product popularity by the consumer (acceptance and preference mapping). Additionally results show how the regulatory framework respectively the requirements for plain yoghurts produced under organic regulation influences the sensory appearance of the products. And results show as well the product improvement potential of organically produced plain yogurts. Some consolidated key-insights from the results out of six European countries: Sensory differences between organic and conventional products depend more on production technology (stirred or semisolid) and regulatory framework (application of milk powder, homogenisation of milk) than on the organic or conventional origin of raw material. For example semi-solid yoghurts in some countries are less accepted and yoghurts that additionally are produced without application of milk powder all show a certain sedimentation of whey and are even less accepted. Disregarding the aspect of “organic” and “conventional”, the acceptance towards plain yoghurt seems to be more or less dependent on certain sensory attributes as there are especially creaminess, smoothness (both texture) and a moderate and balanced sourness (taste). And the presence of liquid on the surface is often not liked. Consumers respond differently in the six European countries concerning the labelling (halo) effect of organic and conventional, meaning that consumer from some countries (e.g. Germany, …) are more influenced by the declaration of “organic” and “conventional” when tasting the products than others (e.g. Switzerland). German consumerses assumes better sensory quality in “healty, fair-traide etc. products.