Summary:
Sensory characteristics of farmed cod exposed to low or conventional stress levels prior to slaughter were evaluated by a trained sensory panel. Consumers in two different settings, central location test (CLT) and home-use test (HUT), also tasted the products and rated them according to overall liking on a 9-point hedonic scale and sensory attributes on a 9-point intensity scale. Differences were observed in texture attributes of the two cod groups by the trained sensory panel. Consumers in the CLT distinguished between the two cod groups whereas consumers in the HUT setting did not. Consumers in the CLT scored the products lower with regard to liking, and evaluated sensory attributes differently from consumers in the HUT setting. The results indicated that the cooking method chosen by consumers in the HUT setting influenced the consumer evaluation of cod. Similar cooking methods used in CLT and HUT produced similar results of liking.