Preference mapping to assess the effect of information on the acceptability of snack bars

Abstract

Six Brazilian commercial brands of snack bars were chosen to evaluate the importance of packaging, highlighting the potential of health claims on the acceptability of them. One hundred and two consumers evaluated bars in three sessions of acceptance test, using a nine-point hedonic scale: the first with no information about the product, the second containing the packaging of the product and the last with information on health-related claims associated with the consumption of the bar. A Randomized Complete Block Design structured the experiment. The results were analyzed using frequency distribution, internal preference mapping, ANOVA and Tukey test (p ≤ 0.05). In the blind test, the lower mean acceptance of the seed and protein bars showed the need for sensorial improvement. In the packaging test, the difference between the means show that the packaging of the bars evaluated did not differ on acceptance, differing only from the protein bar. Test with the information showed that information of health claims, for the most part, can positively influence sensory acceptance, even if in some cases there is no sensory pleasure.