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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Food Quality Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419652
Research Project: Reducing Postharvest Loss and Improving Fresh Produce Marketability and Nutritive Values through Technological Innovations and Process Optimization

Location: Food Quality Laboratory

Title: Leveraging observations of untrained panelists to screen for quality of fresh-cut romaine lettuce

Author
item Park, Eunhee
item Luo, Yaguang - Sunny
item BORNHORST, ELLEN - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE)
item Simko, Ivan
item Trouth, Frances
item Fonseca, Jorge

Submitted to: Horticulturae
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/2/2024
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Ready-to-eat (RTE) salads are highly perishable. Consumers in particular dislike browning color of romaine lettuce, one of the main ingredients of RTE salads. Therefore, selecting cultivars less prone to browning and decay is crucial for extending shelf life of these products. Traditional quality evaluation methods using instrumentation and trained panelists are time-consuming and logistically complex. This study investigated the effectiveness of untrained volunteers in assessing fresh-cut romaine lettuce quality. Given that the average consumer in the USA is familiar with the flavor characteristics of romaine lettuce, this study proposed to investigate the value of having untrained volunteers discern the quality of fresh-cut romaine lettuce. Using six lettuce accession as model, we compare instrumentation results with those provided by consumer panels. The results showed significant quality differences among the accessions, with some seasonal variability. Very importantly, the assessment of 159 consumers revealed similar results to those produced by either instrumentation or a trained panel. This demonstrated that consumer panels can be an effective way to characterize the quality of romaine lettuce for RTE salads.

Technical Abstract: Fresh-cut romaine lettuce’s high perishability challenges ready-to-eat (RTE) salad production. Selecting cultivars less prone to browning and decay is crucial for extending shelf life. Traditional quality evaluation methods using instrumentation and trained panelists are time-consuming and logistically complex. This study investigated the effectiveness of untrained volunteers in assessing fresh-cut romaine lettuce quality. Given that the average consumer in the USA is familiar with the flavor characteristics of romaine lettuce, this study proposed to investigate the value of having untrained volunteers discern the quality of fresh-cut romaine lettuce. Therefore, six romaine lettuce accessions (Green Forest, King Henry, Parris Island Cos, PI 491224, SM13-R2, and Sun Valley) were assessed for sensory quality attributes (browning, green color, decay, and overall quality) and compared with instrumentation analyses (gas composition including O2 and CO2, electrolyte leakage, and color). The results showed significant quality differences (p < 0.05) among the accessions, with some seasonal variability. Very importantly, the consumers’ (n = 159) assessments revealed similar results to those produced by either instrumentation or a trained panel. The consumers provided sensory scores that allowed for the grouping of accessions based on their postharvest quality, which efficiently matched their pedigree relationship. In conclusion, ad hoc consumer panels can be an effective way to characterize the quality of romaine lettuce for RTE salads.