Factors affecting consumers’ preferences for and purchasing decisions regarding pasteurized and raw milk specialty cheeses

Abstract

Eight hundred ninety consumers at a local food festival were surveyed about their specialty cheese purchasing behavior and asked to taste and rate, through nonforced choice preference, 1 of 4 cheese pairs (Cheddar and Gouda) made from pasteurized and raw milks. The purpose of the survey was to examine consumers' responses to information on the safety of raw milk cheeses. The associated consumer test provided information about specialty cheese consumers' preferences and purchasing behavior. Half of the consumers tested were provided with cheese pairs that were identified as being made from unpasteurized and pasteurized milk. The other half evaluated samples that were identified only with random 3-digit codes. Overall, more consumers preferred the raw milk cheeses than the pasteurized milk cheeses. A larger portion of consumers indicated preferences for the raw milk cheese when the cheeses were labeled and thus they knew which samples were made from raw milk. Most of the consumers tested considered the raw milk cheeses to be less safe or did not know if raw milk cheeses were less safe. After being informed that the raw milk cheeses were produced by a process approved by the FDA (i.e., 60-d ripening), most consumers with concerns stated that they believed raw milk cheeses to be safe. When marketing cheese made from raw milk, producers should inform consumers that raw milk cheese is produced by an FDA-approved process.

Is Food and Drug Administration policy governing artisan cheese consistent with consumers’ preferences?

“…These findings differ from Colonna et al (2011), who conducted sensory tests with pasteurized and unpasteurized versions of numerous cheeses and found that more people preferred cheese made from unpasteurized milk cheese on average (in blind taste tests and particularly when they were labeled).…”

“…If the objective were to isolate the sensory attributes, a more appropriate experimental design would involve multiple varieties of cheese as perColonna et al (2011).…”

Quality evaluation and discrimination of semi-hard and hard cheeses from the Marche region (Central Italy) using chemometric tools

“…Although the consumption of dairy products made from raw milk is assumed to be a higher health risk for the potential occurrence of human pathogens, namely Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Brucella melitensis, and Listeria monocytogenes (West, 2008), raw milk cheeses are generally perceived by consumers as food products with premium quality and higher flavour intensity (Colonna, Durham, & Meunier-Goddik, 2011;Muir, Banks, & Hunter, 1997). By contrast, pasteurised milk cheeses, which are generally produced by large-scale dairy industries with modern technologies under carefully controlled conditions, are claimed to have a less intense sensory profile Colonna et al, 2011;Muir et al, 1997), due to killing of much of the indigenous microbiota of the raw milk and replacement with a few selected starter strains (Psoni, Tzanetakis, & Litopoulou-Tzanetaki, 2006).…”

Determinants consumers’ preferences for milk in Maranhão, Brazil

“…The respondents were approached at their own convenience, in public places with population flows at different times of the day, to cover a wider range of possible respondent types. Half of the forms were administered to men, and the other half were administered to women, since men than women participate less in voluntary surveys (COLONNA et al, 2011).…”