Omics labeling and consumer preferences: Understanding aesthetic and taste evaluations in apple purchases

The organic food market is rapidly expanding in both cultivated acreage and consumer demand, driven by ethical, environmental, and health considerations. However, food fraud schemes pose challenges that threaten product credibility. Omics technologies—advanced traceability methods employing genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics— may offer a potential solution for verifying the authenticity of organic products. Despite this, no studies have investigated yet how consumers perceive organic products certified through these technologies. The present study aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring how the omics label affects consumer evaluations of taste, aesthetic and intention to buy apples. A sensory experiment involving 129 consumers assessed these attributes for a single batch of apples, which differed only in terms of the label used when presented to consumers. The labels used were ' conventional', 'organic', and 'omics certified'. Although “omics-certified” apples were generally well-received in terms of aesthetic and taste appreciation, there were no statistically significant differences between them and conventional apples. Similarly, no differences were found between omics and organic labels in terms of aesthetic and taste evaluations. However, purchase intention was significantly higher for apples labelled as omics-certified and organic compared to conventional ones. These findings suggest that labels play a critical role in influencing purchase intention, highlighting the potential of omics certifications as a credible alternative to organic labels and their ability to enhance consumer trust in food authenticity. • No significant differences in aesthetics and taste among three apple labels (i.e., conventional, organic, and omics). • Omics and organic labels increase purchase intention over conventional products. • No difference in purchase intention between omics-certified and organic apples. • Psychosocial factors do not significantly influence omics apple purchases. • Consumer education could enhance acceptance of omics technology.