Impact of hedonic evaluation on consumers' preferences for beef attributes including its enrichment with n-3 and CLA fatty acids

• Hedonic evaluation had a significant impact on consumers' choices for beef attributes.
• The importance of fat, color, and origin decreased while diet increased after tasting.
• Utilities increased for n-3 enriched beef after hedonic evaluation.
• Utilities were still not significant for CLA enriched beef after hedonic evaluation.
• Information had a significant impact on consumers' preferences but not on beef liking.

The impact of hedonic evaluation on consumers' preferences for beef attributes was evaluated (origin, animal diet, fat content, color, price) including its enrichment with omega-3 (n-3) and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) fatty acids. One group of consumers (n = 325) received information about n-3 and CLA, while the other group (n = 322) received no information. Consumers conducted a Discrete Choice Experiment (DCE), using the recently developed Generalized Multinomial Logit model; followed by a blind hedonic evaluation of beef samples, which were identified after tasting, and finally repeated the DCE. Results showed that hedonic evaluation had a significant impact on consumers' preferences, which were similar after tasting for all consumers, with less emphasis on the fat content, color, and origin attributes and greater emphasis on animal diet. Preference for n-3 enriched beef increased, while preference for CLA enriched beef was still not significant after tasting. The information provided had a significant effect on consumers' beef preferences, but no significant impact on beef liking scores.