A comparison of GIFT and red tilapia for fillet yield and sensory attributes of flesh quality assessed by a panel of untrained consumers

Abstract

This evaluation was conducted by a panel of untrained consumers, not in a laboratory environment, but instead, in a cafeteria where WorldFish staff normally have their lunch. The Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA) approach used by Khaw et al. (2006) is generally recommended for product evaluation. It relies on especially trained personnel and it does not lend itself to situations in which the number of samples to be assessed is large. Furthermore, in reality, the acceptance or rejection of a product is determined by ordinary untrained consumers, not by trained personnel. Hence, without detracting from the value of the QDA approach, it was decided to conduct an evaluation based on an assessment made by untrained consumers, namely, volunteers among WorldFish staff. In this paper we present the results of this evaluation and discuss them in relation to those from the QDA approach.