Distributors and promoters of organic food claim superior tastes for their products
compared to the conventional alternative. This argument however is still subject to a hard
debate and thus deserves more scientific evidence. Since repurchases are dependent on
the overall liking of a product, and sensory experiences may have an important impact,
knowledge about these dimensions is crucial for producers and marketers of organic food
to offer products which meet consumer expectations. The main purpose of this project
therefore is to develop the first Organic Sensory Information System (OSIS), a multilingual
and centrally based data folder for data deposition along with an interface scheme that
serves as a basis for data exchange to the benefit of the organic food market (organic
associations, producer, processors, retailer, wholesaler as well as consumers). To this aim,
a multidisciplinary and international research approach is necessary which comprises
sensory and consumer research linked with standards requirements in different European
countries (CH, DE, FR, IT, NL, PL). The extendable data folder will contain descriptions of
sensory properties of specific products from six product categories as well as information
about underlying production methods which explain the sensory differences between
organic and conventional as well as consumer and expectations. The comprehensive
sensory evaluations will also result in a preference mapping of sensory quality. The impact
of EU legislation and standards of organic farming associations, which define production
methods and ingredients, will also be elaborated for OSIS. Qualitative and quantitative
consumer research is carried out to develop segment-specific marketing strategies based
on OSIS for all stakeholders involved. Comprehensive dissemination and training activities,
including the preparation of training materials for all stakeholder groups involved a well as
for sale staff, will ensure the broad information of the organic food market.