2018 ASHS Annual Conference

The consumer demand for locally grown fresh produce is continuously increasing in the United States. The high tunnel systems have been successfully utilized by small acreage growers for local production. Consumers are typically assessing appearance, freshness, flavor and aroma when purchasing produce. A common perception is that locally grown produce tastes better than non-local. However, there is not much information about the effect of locality on the consumer acceptability and sensory characteristics of spinach. The objective of this study was to identify consumer acceptability and the sensory characteristics of locally grown spinach in open field or in high tunnel and non-local commercially grown spinach. The consumer study (n=205) was conducted at Kansas State University, Olathe campus, and the descriptive sensory analysis was conducted by a highly trained descriptive analysis panel in the Center for Sensory Analysis and Consumer Behavior at Kansas State University, Manhattan campus, in spring 2017. Spinach, Spinacia oleracea cv. “Corvair” was grown in open field and in high tunnel at Kansas State University Olathe Horticulture Research and Extension Center (OHREC) in spring 2017 and the commercially grown spinach was purchased at a local retail store. Consumer questionnaires evaluated the preference of the three types of spinach on the basis of appearance, overall liking, flavor and texture using a 9-point hedonic scale. The consumer test showed that high tunnel spinach scored significantly higher in overall liking (p<0.0001), flavor liking (p<0.0001) and texture liking (p<0.05) when compared to open field and store purchased spinach. There was no significant difference in appearance liking between the three types of spinach. Descriptive analysis showed that locally grown spinach had higher intensity of attributes that indicate high quality, such as green color and green/spinach flavors. Our results indicate that locally grown spinach is preferred from the consumers for its high organoleptic quality