EFFECT OF INFORMATION ABOUT PIG BREED ON CONSUMERS’ ACCEPTABILITY OF DRY SAUSAGE MARIJA CERJAK 1,3 , DANIJEL KAROLYI 2 and DAMIR KOVAC ˇ IC ´ 1 Departments of 1 Agricultural Marketing and 2 Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture University of Zagreb, Svetosimunska 25, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +385-1-2393-739; FAX: +385-1-2393-745; EMAIL: mcerjak@agr.hr Accepted for Publication December 30, 2010 doi:10.1111/j.1745-459X.2011.00329.x ABSTRACT This research examined the influence of information about a particular pig breed (Black Slavonian pig breed [BSB], compared to modern white breeds [MWB]), with respect to the consumer acceptability of traditional kulen sausage. Hedonic evalua- tions of two kulen samples were elicited from 100 consumers, under both blind and informed tasting conditions. Additionally, consumers reported their quality expec- tations of BSB and MWB kulen. An expectancy test revealed higher quality expectations of BSB kulen compared to MWB kulen. The share of respondents preferring BSB kulen in a blind test was sig- nificantly lower than that in the expectancy test (negative disconfirmation), while consumers found MWB kulen tasted better than expected (positive disconfirma- tion). Providing information about the particular pig breed affected preferences positively toward BSB and negatively toward MWB kulen. However, the assimilation of information was complete for MWB, but not for BSB kulen, implying that, apart from extrinsic cues, intrinsic cues have an impact on actual (informed) preferences for kulen sausage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Consumers are paying increased attention to the quality of food and becoming more sensitive to information about products they consume. Results of this study confirm that information about pig breeds and implied traditional value can significantly influence consumers’ expectations and therefore can be used as a differentiation tool in marketing of traditional meat products. INTRODUCTION Market globalization and increased supply of new food prod- ucts leads to increased consumer uncertainty in purchasing and buying decisions. Food quality scandals have further eroded consumer confidence in food product safety. Together, these are why product origin and the production process, in addition to food quality, have become increasingly important to food consumers (Radman et al. 2006). It is widely documented that information about produc- tion (including animal welfare), origin of food, raw material or nutritional qualities as well as health claims influence con- sumers’ sensory evaluation of a food product (Johansson et al. 1999; Siret and Issanchou 2000; Caporale et al. 2006; Iac- carino et al. 2006; Resano et al. 2007; Carlucci et al. 2009; Chiou et al. 2009; Napolitano et al. 2010). Studying the impact of information is particularly relevant for traditional products which use product origin and manufacturing process as important promotional elements (Caporale et al. 2006). In recent years, traditional meat products, very often produced from local breeds and in sustainable production systems, are gaining a renewed and increased interest from consumers across Europe (Iaccarino et al. 2006; Karolyi and Kovac ˇic ´ 2008). Such products have a good image with the public and in the media and are often considered to be of better quality than products from modern breeds. Madonia et al. (2004), e.g., showed that traditional Sicilian salami made of the local Nero Siciliano pig breed had better organoleptic and other traits compared to salami made of modern white breeds. Following such trends is the use of local Black Slavonian pigs in Croatia for the production of traditional meat products (Karolyi et al. 2004; Radman et al. 2005; Journal of Sensory Studies ISSN 0887-8250 128 Journal of Sensory Studies 26 (2011) 128–134 © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.