Effect of reduced-fat information on expected and actual hedonic and sensory ratings of sausage.

The effect of information about fat content on expected and actual sensory and hedonic ratings of regular- and reduced-fat Bologna sausages was studied using 115 young men. All the subjects rated the expected pleasantness, juiciness, saltiness and fattiness of "Bologna". Subsequently, a sub-group of subjects ("No information", N=54) rated the unlabelled samples after tasting. Another sub-group ("Information", N=61) rated the expected and actual pleasantness and attribute intensities of samples labelled as "Regular type of Bologna (20% fat)" and "Light Bologna (10% fat)". The samples were not rated significantly different by the "No information" group. In the "Information" group, "Light Bologna" was expected to be less fatty, less salty, less juicy and less pleasant than "Regular type of Bologna". After tasting, saltiness and fattiness of "Light Bologna" were rated lower while pleasantness and juiciness of the samples were not significantly different. Actual saltiness and fattiness of "Light Bologna" were assimilated to the low expected intensities. Even that the hedonic ratings of "Light" and "Regular type of Bologna" differed only slightly, low expected pleasantness, juiciness and other attribute intensities imply that young men would not choose the product. Other information strategies might result in better acceptance by this target group.