Influence of Functional and Diet/Light Claims on Chocolate Dairy Dessert Consumers' Evaluations: Bilinear and Multilinear Decomposition Methods

This study evaluates the effect of functional and diet/light claims on acceptance of chocolate dairy desserts. One hundred consumers participated in the tests of sensory acceptability in relation to the attributes of appearance, aroma, flavor, texture and overall liking. Tests were conducted using the same composition of samples and varying only the claims. Internal Preference map using parallel factor analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed using the consumer data. Data showed that consumers evaluated the claims differently. The samples with the addition of prebiotic claim and declaring the functional property of prebiotics were preferred by them. As the samples with the addition of diet/light claims, which received highest scores. It was concluded that the addition of claims may be suitable to be used in a chocolate dairy dessert with high acceptance by consumers. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The role that food industry plays on people's everyday life is undeniable, as well as the importance of diet on the prevention of diseases and its association to health promotion. Food industry has amplified market by providing practical foods and goods for consumers’ convenience. The effect of information addition on the label of these foods is a study of great importance for food industries, as contributing to a better targeting of information, as the claims, and thus greater acceptance by consumers.