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Although tomato flavor has not been a major goal for breeders, nowadays it becomes important as it is a subject of consumer complaint. A better knowledge of tomato consumer preferences, at the European level, should provide the basis for improvement of fruit quality and for market segmentation. In the framework of a large European project, 806 consumers from 3 countries, The Netherlands, France, and Italy, were presented with a set of 16 varieties representing the diversity of fresh tomato offer in order to evaluate their preferences. In parallel, sensory profiles were constructed by expert panels in each country. Preference maps were then constructed in each country revealing the structure of consumer preferences and allowing identification of the most important characteristics. Then a global analysis revealed that preferences were quite homogeneous across countries. This study identified the overall flavor and firmness as the most important traits for improving tomato fruit quality. It showed that consumer preferences from different European countries, with different cultures and food practices, are segmented following similar patterns when projected onto a common referential plan. Moreover, the results clearly showed that diversification of taste and texture is required to satisfy all consumers' expectations as some consumers preferred firm tomatoes, while others preferred melting ones and were more or less demanding in terms of sweetness and flavor intensity. Detailed comparisons also showed the importance of the fruit appearance in consumer preference., (© 2010 Institute of Food Technologists®)

Sensory properties are important elements to evaluate the qualities of vegetable products and are also determinant factors in purchasing decision. Here we report the Italian results of a preference mapping study conducted within a larger European project with the aim of describing the preferences of European consumers in regard to the diversity of traditional and modern tomato varieties, available on the market. This study has allowed the assessment of fruit quality at 3 levels: objective description of sensory properties, consumer preference tests, and physicochemical measurements. A set of 16 tomato cultivars, with different fruit sizes and shapes, was described and classified according to 18 sensory attributes including flavor, appearance, and texture characteristics. The same cultivars were evaluated by 179 consumers in a "preference mapping" experiment with the goal of identifying the preferred varieties and the reasons for the choice. The consumer data are referred to hedonic ratings (aspect liking and overall liking), familiarity for the analyzed cultivars, and individual features collected by a questionnaire. A hierarchical analysis of the clusters allowed to distinguish, within the sampled Italian consumers, 4 segments with different preferences which represented 19%, 25%, 41%, and 15% of the population, respectively. A partial least square regression model allowed the identification of the sensory attributes that best described consumer cluster preferences for tomato cultivars. Both texture and flavor descriptors were important drivers of consumer preferences, but the relevance (predictive value) of individual descriptors to model tomato liking was different for each consumer segment. Information on demographic and behavioral characteristics, usage habits, and factors relevant for purchasing were also provided on the 4 groups of consumers.