PROFITABILITY AND ACCEPTABILITY OF FAT-MODIFIED AND SODIUM-MODIFIED HOT ENTREES IN A WORKSITE CAFETERIA

Objectives To compare the acceptability of fat- and sodium-modified en trees before and after implementation of a marketing program and to de termine the effect offering and marketing these healthful entrees had on total cafeteria and entree sales in a worksite cafeteria. Design Th e research was conducted in five phases, including sales data collecti on, acceptance testing of unmodified hot entrees, acceptance testing o f modified entrees, and implementation of a marketing campaign for pro moting low-fat, sodium-controlled food selections. Setting The Kansas Farm Bureau and Affiliated Services (KFB) employee cafeteria. Subjects KFB employees who ate lunch in the employee cafeteria and were willin g to participate in the study. Main outcome measures Sales data (perce nt of customers purchasing a modified entree and sales of modified ent ree as a percent of total sales); nutrient analysis data (energy, gram s of total fat, percent of energy from fat, milligrams of cholesterol, and milligrams of sodium); and acceptability data (11 characteristics were measured using a seven-point hedonic scale). Statistical analysi s performed General linear model analysis of variance was used to comp are sales data from phases 1 to 5 and to compare acceptability data fr om phases 2 to 4. Results No significant differences in sales data wer e observed during the 7-month study. No significant changes in overall acceptability were found for any entree. However, customers tended to rate overall acceptability higher when entrees were marketed as lower in fat and sodium. Applications/conclusions Customers in worksite caf eterias may be more milling to tolerate changes in flavor attributes w hen modified entrees are marketed as ''healthful'' and nutrition infor mation is available.