Sensory profile, consumer acceptance, and physicochemical properties of pan bread made with imported or domestic commercial wheat flour

The objectives of this study were to investigate the influence of wheat origin (domestic versus imported) on the sensory profile, consumer acceptability, and physicochemical properties of pan bread. The physicochemical and textural properties of pan bread made from imported wheat flours were not different from those made with domestic wheat flours. The sensory profiles of breads differed depending on wheat origin. Pan bread from imported wheat flours and domestic wheat flour from large milling companies showed a similar sensory profile. However, domestic wheat flour containing some brans and originating from mid-size companies had a strong cereal odor/flavor, yeasty flavor, powdery mouthfeel aftertaste, and crumbliness. In consumer tests, highly accepted domestic samples showed an increment of purchase intent (PI) between the blind and informed tests, but there was no change in PI for imported samples. Consumers seemed to value the country of origin for domestic wheat flour only for the highly accepted samples. Therefore, high quality domestic wheat flour can meet the consumer expectations and increase PI. Practical application Country of origin is one of the marketing points for the food industry to attract consumers. Food manufacturers should consider consumer acceptance. Even though they advertise the use of domestic ingredients in their products, consumers would not change their PI dramatically for low accepted food products. Consumers give additional value to food products made from domestic ingredients only if these products attain certain levels of acceptability. Unconditional ethnocentrism for food products made from domestic ingredients does not exist. Therefore, the industry should consider that consumer acceptance of products must meet consumer expectations in order to maximize the advantage of the country of origin for foods with domestic ingredients.