A pre-post sensory experiment on the effect of a seminar on olive oil preferences of Italian consumers

A pre-post sensory evaluation experiment was conducted to measure the effect of information on taste and other sensory aspects of olive oils on a sample of Italian consumers. Three categories of olive oils were included in the experiment: virgin, extra virgin, and crystal clear. For the first tasting session, 246 assessors were randomly assigned either to the treated (n = 117) or to the control group (n = 129). After the first tasting session, the treated group attended the seminar, with the aims, among others, how to identify qualified and/or fresh oil. After one week, the second tasting session involved 99 assessors who had in the meantime participated in the seminar and 106 who had not participated. The experiment followed a double- blind administration procedure to the sample and a paper questionnaire was used to elicit a preferential judgment for each oil tasted. The results show that the information provided may influence the capacity of consumers to recognise the essential sensory characteristics of olive oils.