Reference-based consumer evaluation for sensory quality assessment of fresh horticultural products

The sensory quality of fresh horticultural products varies and is often judged against control cultivars, commercial standards, or target-quality benchmarks. This mini-review distinguishes three interconnected levels of sensory quality: analytical sensory quality, consumer-perceived sensory quality, and consumer acceptance. It argues that methods for assessing consumer acceptance should be selected according to the decisions they are intended to inform. Reference-based evaluation makes the comparison standard explicit during judgment and is relevant to cultivar replacement and quality preservation. In the 'Degree of Satisfaction-Difference' method, consumers judge whether a test product is less satisfying than, as satisfying as, or more satisfying than a presented reference. Responses are analyzed within a signal detection theory framework to estimate reference-relative satisfaction differences. Differences in harvest window, maturity, and postharvest stability may prevent evaluation of all products in a single set. A common reference may provide an explicit criterion across evaluation blocks, if its sensory quality remains demonstrably comparable. Reference-based satisfaction complements hedonic liking. Monadic 9-point hedonic testing efficiently measures how much each product is liked, but including a coded benchmark does not make the judgment reference-relative. A non-significant difference in liking neither establishes equivalence nor rules out a reference-relative satisfaction difference. A monadic liking test and a reference-based satisfaction test therefore address distinct questions: how much a product is liked and how satisfying it is relative to a specified standard. Their combined use is justified when both outcomes are needed and reference comparability can be maintained, supporting consumer-oriented quality decisions in fresh horticultural products. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.