Consumers' Sensory Profile and Understanding of Clean-Label Sausage. An Approach Using Ultra-Flash Profile and Check-All-That-Apply

Abstract

Clean-label meat products are trending in the food industry; however, they are little known by consumers. In this context, the present work aims to: (i) assess the sensory characteristics of fresh sausage supplemented with natural additives through the application of ultra-flash profile (UFP) and (ii) investigate consumers' knowledge of clean-label meat products using check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions. Fresh sausage formulations were prepared from different concentrations of celery and rosemary extracts with curry. The results showed that different concentrations of these natural additives corresponded to different sensory profiles. The attributes that most effectively distinguish sausages are their red color, flavorful seasoning, juiciness, and spiciness. The results from CATA questions indicate a lack of understanding regarding chemicals and additives in food, as well as about clean-label. Clean-label meat sausage appears promising as consumers place a high value on natural additives. The remaining challenge for the meat industry's marketing sector is to establish a connection between natural additives and clean-label products in the minds of consumers.