title: Opinion of Spanish Consumers on Hydrosustainable Pistachios.
abstract: Fruits and vegetables cultivated under controlled deficit irrigation (CDI) are called hydrosustainable (hydroSOS) products and have its own personality and are environmentally-friendly. Focus groups helped in classifying key farming, sensory, and health concepts associated with CDI-grown pistachios. Besides, focus groups also helped in stating that a logo was needed for these special foods, and that a hydroSOS index is also essential to certify that the products have been controlled by a control board. Conjoint analysis was used to check which attributes could be helpful in promoting CDI-grown pistachios among Spanish consumers in a 1st step toward the European Union (EU) market. It was clearly proved that the main silo of properties driving the attention of Spanish consumers was that related to health. The most important attributes for pistachios were "product of Spain," "rich in antioxidant," and "crunchy"; this finding was clearly related to the popularity of regional foods, the preoccupation of European consumers for their health, and the joy related to the crunchiness of toasted nuts, respectively. The use of these 3 concepts, together with the use of the hydroSOS logo, will be essential to promote hydroSOS pistachios among Spanish and EU consumers. Finally, it is important to highlight that in general Spanish consumers were willing to pay an extra amount of 1.0 euros per kg of hydroSOS pistachios. These earnings will be essential to convince Spanish farmers to implement CDI strategies and have a sustainable and environmental-friendly use of the irrigation water.
authors.affiliation: Univ. Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH), Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela (EPSO), Depto. Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Grupo de Investigación "Calidad y Seguridad Alimentaria, CSA", Carretera de Beniel, km 3,2, 03312-Orihuela, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Noguera-Artiaga
authors.affiliation: Univ. Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH), Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela (EPSO), Depto. Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Grupo de Investigación "Calidad y Seguridad Alimentaria, CSA", Carretera de Beniel, km 3,2, 03312-Orihuela, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Leontina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lipan
authors.affiliation: Hijos de Rivera SAU, Rúa José María Rivera Corral, 6. 15008-A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vázquez-Araújo
authors.affiliation: Applied Statistical Unit, Operations Research Centre, Univ. Miguel Hernández de Elche, Avda. de la Univ. s/n, 03202-Elche, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Xavi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Barber
authors.affiliation: Servicio de Investigación Agraria de la JCCM, Centro Agrario "El Chaparrillo", Carretera Porzuna km 3.2, 13071-Ciudad Real, Spain.|Technical Univ. of Madrid, Depto. Producción Vegetal: Fitotecnia, Ciudad Univ, s/n. 28040 Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pérez-López
authors.affiliation: Univ. Miguel Hernández de Elche (UMH), Escuela Politécnica Superior de Orihuela (EPSO), Depto. Tecnología Agroalimentaria, Grupo de Investigación "Calidad y Seguridad Alimentaria, CSA", Carretera de Beniel, km 3,2, 03312-Orihuela, Alicante, Spain. angel.carbonell@umh.es.
authors.forename: Ángel A
authors.initials: ÁA
authors.lastname: Carbonell-Barrachina
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation / Q000379:methods*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000737:chemistry; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D005062:European Union; D017144:Focus Groups; D019649:Food Industry; D006801:Humans; D009754:Nuts; D027927:Pistacia / Q000737:chemistry*; D013030:Spain
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants
keywords: Pistachia vera; conjoint analysis; controlled deficit irrigation; focus group; water efficiency