REDUCING POSTHARVEST APPLE LOSSES BY BREEDING AND MARKETING
FOR CONSUMER DEMAND
A. Van der Merwe1, M. Muller1, I.F. Labuschagne 2, F.J. Calitz,3 and W.J. Steyn 4
1
2
Department of Food Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa.
South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC), Infruitec - Nietvoorbij, Private Bag X5013, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa.
3
4
South Agricultural Research Council, Biometry Unit, Private Bag X5013, Stellenbosch 7599, South Africa.
Department of Horticultural Science, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland 7602, South Africa
First author email: 14314800@sun.ac.za
Keywords: Consumer segmentation, fruit breeding, sensory analysis, Malus domestica
INTRODUCTION
Leading supermarket groups in the Western Cape yearly lose up to 7% of their monetary apple
crops due to consumers not buying these fruit in time to prevent spoilage. Therefore it is of
utmost importance that apples are bred with consumer demand foremost in mind and that these
apples are then marketed and available to the right consumers at the relevant point of sale.
Traditionally, assessment of visual and sensory fruit traits for selection purposes is performed by
breeders on an individual basis, due to the practical limitations of consumer preference testing
early in the breeding process (Hampson, 2000). Furthermore, the high levels of variability in
consumer preference complicate the identification of single product targets. Multivariate
statistical analysis is a technique increasingly used to determine the important influences on
overall food acceptability. These methods can be used to gain a better understanding of why
segments of consumers have differing responses, as well as identify the attributes that each
consumer segment responds to (Harker et al., 2003).
The study can be divided into two phases: The objective of the first phase of the study was to
establish the main drivers of consumer liking and to correlate instrumental assessment and
sensory analysis of quality traits.
The objective of the second phase was to study the
segmentation of a selected group of black, coloured and white consumers for preference of
eating quality and appearance of apples.
REFERENCES
Harker, F.R., Gunson, F.A. & Jaeger, S.R., 2003. The case for fruit quality: an interpretive review
of consumer attitudes, and preferences for apples. Postharvest Biology and Technology 28,
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Hampson, C.R., Quamme, H.A., Hall, J.W., MacDonald, R.A., King, M.C. & Cliff, M.A., 2000.
Sensory evaluation as a selection tool in apple breeding. Euphytica 111, 79-90.
Lawless, H.T. & Heymann, H. 1998. Sensory Evaluation of Food, Principles and practices.
Chapman & Hall, New York.