THE QUALITY OF APPLES - PREFERENCES AMONG CONSUMERS FROM SKIERNIEWICE, POLAND

Abstract

The presented studies are part of European HiDRAS Project, having as the goal an increase of consumer acceptance and diffusion of disease resistant apples. Consumer survey focused on habits of fruit eating and expectations towards apple quality. The respondents were from Skierniewice, Poland, and the surrounding countryside. The number of respondents was 219 in 2004 and 246 in 2005. They were inquired about frequency, amount and motivation of eating fruit and apples in particular. They were also asked to identify, order and rank different apple quality traits according to their own preferences. Numbers and forms of questions were fitted to the age of the target group. Over 90 % of both adult and younger consumers like apples, and over 30 % eat more than seven apples a week. Most of the adult consumers buy apples directly from growers or at the farmers market. Most also considered these outlets to be the best sources of high-quality apples. Most of the adult consumers do not buy apples from environmentally friendly orchards because they are difficult to find on the local market. Adult respondents considered flavour and juiciness to be very important. Many respondents also stated that sweetness and firmness were very important. By far most of the younger consumers preferred sweet, red apples. The teenagers strongly preferred firm apples, whereas the children strongly preferred soft ones. As concerns external quality traits such as size or colour, younger respondents are rather changeable in their decision. However, when it comes to the internal attributes such as texture and flavour they gave really consistent responses.