Consumer Acceptance and Sensory Profiling of Hemp Seed Flour-Fortified Whole Wheat Bread Using Hedonic, Just-About-Right (JAR), And Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) Analyses

Hemp seed flour is a great way to increase the nutritional value of food through functional food creations, specifically in baked goods and is sustainable approach to developing functional foods. This study evaluated that how different amount of incorporation of raw and processed hemp seed flour affects the sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of whole wheat bread. Thirteen types of breads were made, and 200 consumers between the ages 18 and 30 evaluated breads based on 9-point hedonic scale, Just-About-Right (JAR) analysis and Check-All-That-Apply (CATA). ANOVA, penalty analysis, Cochran’s Q, Correspondence Analysis (CA), Principal Component Analysis (PCA), and Multi-Variate Discriminant Analysis (MDA) were used to analyse the data. The results showed that all samples were significantly different (p < 0.05), with variant C2 ranking the highest (8.74±0.43), followed by variants A2 and B1. The penalty analysis indicated that firmness, crumbliness, and aftertaste were the main attributes affecting consumer preference. CATA revealed that A2 and C2 were associated with favorable descriptors such as buttery, sweet, soft, and spongy, whereas B1 showed both positive and negative traits. The findings demonstrate that seed flour can be incorporated into bread formulations without compromising sensory quality. Hemp-enriched bread, particularly variant C2, shows strong potential as a sustainable, health-oriented, functional bakery product balancing nutrition and consumer appeal.