Relazione fra qualità percepita per il filetto e informazione sul sistema di allevamento della trota I.R.IDEA

Consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about the practices of animal breeding. However, opinions and beliefs about fish farming are mainly based on emotions and images transferred from intensive systems of livestock production, rather than on real knowledge and awareness of aquaculture. As part of a project to characterize regional fish products, the influence of information about origin and production process on the quality expectation and acceptability of trout was evaluate. Fillets from trout (600g) were used in a consumer test organized in three phases. In the first one, fillets were evaluated by a hundred of consumers in blind condition, without any information about the product. In the second phase, test participants evaluated the expectation of quality for fillets coming from regional farms that use spring-water, following a disciplinary that provides wide controls from production sites to the table. In the last stage, after a week, tasters rated fillets liking after being informed about the origin and production system. The perceived quality of fillets trout, as liking level due to their intrinsic properties evaluated in blind condition, was well scored to 42.1 points (LAM scale). Quality expectations (50.7 points) exceed the perceived sensory quality, approaching the "like very much" (corresponding to 56 points). However, after consumers had full information about fish (real liking which involves trout sensory characteristics and production system), their evaluation resulted comparable to the expectations. There were a complete assimilation of the information provided (origin and production process), which gives a significant effect on liking perception for trout regionally farmed.