Evaluation of Consumers Acceptability of Cassava Cooked Paste (EBA) Using 9-Points Hedonic, Jar, and CATA Methods

This study aimed at identifying the desire quality attributes of gari-eba among the consumers with the aim of helping breeders to develop new cassava varieties that will meet the quality characteristics of good gari for eba as determined by consumers. Four (4) communities that are major producers of cassava and consumers of gari were selectedin Benue State, Nigeria (Tyo-mu, Shangevya-koti, NyamII, Al'Okete).Four selected cassava varieties (TMS-IBA011412, TMS14F1278PP0003, TMS14F1022P0003, banada) were processed to gari and turned to eba (using ratio 1:3 gari/water) for consumer's acceptability. A well structured questionnaire comprising of 9-points hedonic test, Just About Right test (JAR) and Check-All-That-Apply test (CATA) was administered to 150 consumers for consumer acceptability. The results which were statistically analyzed, indicated that the frequencies of good characteristics mentioned by Benue consumers on most preferred eba sample produced from banada showed that neatness had the highest with frequency of 146 out of 150 consumers, followed by smoothness (143), good taste (143), mouldable (140), good aroma (138), stretchy (137), white (126), moderately soft (116), fermented odour (79), not sour (78), and less lump (60). On the other hand, the frequencies of poor characteristics mentioned by Benue consumers on most preferred eba sample showed that too soft had the highest with frequency of 32, followed by no taste (17.0), not mouldable (15.0), not stretchy, 12.0), and sour (12.0).The findings will, therefore, help the breeders to develop improved cassava varieties that will be acceptable by multi end-users.