Consumer evaluation of milk authenticity explained both by consumer background characteristics and by product sensory descriptors

Consumer authenticity tests were used to elicit consumer response to the influence of fodder and storage time on the flavor of cow milk. A panel of professional tasters was used to provide a descriptive profile of the sensory characteristics of the milk. Consumer background characteristics were collected through a questionnaire concerning demographic and consumption pattern variables as well as assessments using two attitude scales: a modified food neophobia questions and a set of milk xenophobia questions. A multivariate data analytical method (L-shaped partial least squares regression) was used to model the variation in the authenticity evaluation simultaneously from two different sources: the storage/feed effects as described by the sensory panel and the consumer background variables. Results showed that milk samples with storage/feed characteristics were evaluated as "foreign" (not Danish) by some segments of the consumers.