# Effects of the Fruit Harvest Date and Shelf-Life Nexus of Apples on Different Quality Perspectives
## 2 Materials and Methods
### Kano Model  
A survey of consumer attitudes was conducted using a questionnaire, with the aim of discovering attitudes regarding oral processing and the quality of apples and to obtain the information needed to construct the Kano model. There were two sections to the questionnaire. The respondents provided answers to demographic questions in the first section. Seven aspects of apple quality and five oral processing attributes were presented \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Mechanical Parameters** & **General Description** & **Unit** \\ \hline Deformation at hardness & The distance to which the sample was compressed & mm \\  & when the hardness occurred. & \\ \hline Adhesiveness & The work needed to separate a probe from the sample. & mJ \\ \hline Fracturability & The energy needed to break the sample apart. & N \\ \hline Cohesiveness & An indicator of how effectively a sample’s structure & - \\  & resists compression. & \\ \hline Springiness & Indicator of the sample’s return distance following & - \\  & compression to the target deformation. & \\ \hline Gumminess & The amount of energy needed to break down the & \\  & semi-solid food sample into a form that could & N \\  & be swallowed. & \\ \hline Chewiness Index & The amount of energy needed to chew a solid food & N \\  & sample until it was ready to be swallowed. & \\ \hline Average peak load & Average value of maximum measured loads recorded & N \\  & during the test. & \\ \hline Firmness & The force needed for a probe to penetrate a certain & kg/cm\({}^{2}\) \\  & distance into the flesh. & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: List of mechanical parameters related to the texture profile analysis. Figure 1: Schematic overview of the research protocol with an indication of the specific method employed. Legend: TDS—temporal dominance sensation. in the second section of the questionnaire as functional and non-functional statements with five possible responses each: (a) satisfied, (b) it should be that way, (c) I am indifferent, (d) I can live with it, or (e) dissatisfied [16]. In line with the recommendations of [PERSON] and [PERSON] [39], authors restricted the number of quality and oral processing attributes to seven and five, respectively, to avoid an excessively long questionnaire, because each attribute had two opposite statements. Based on the respondents' responses to the paired questions regarding the requirements, each need is assigned to a category chosen from a \(5\times 5\) matrix called the Evaluation Sheet (ESh) [16]. After that, the resultant requirement type (category) is noted, and the procedure is repeated for each requirement and each response. The category with the highest frequency for the specified requirement is the final one. The data are represented graphically as a two-dimensional Kano model to show the relationship between respondents' responses and request fulfillment. According to [PERSON] et al., the approach is predicated on a series of paired questions, to which the customer's responses provide the classification of the examined needs into five valid categories: (i) Must-be (when present, they are considered an advantage; if not present, they disappoint); (ii) One-dimensional (customer satisfaction is derived from their presence, whereas their absence leads to dissatisfaction); (iii) Attractive (these characteristics cause customer satisfaction, while their absence has no impact); (iv) Indifferent (these characteristics have a minimal impact on customer satisfaction); (v) Reverse (their presence causes dissatisfaction and vice versa); the invalid category is Questionable (when the answers do not make sense) [18]. According to the values displayed in the theoretical Kano model, each attribute was given a start and end point. The average values of the two points were then computed using the total values for all customers and supplied into the model, in accordance with the guidelines provided by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [40].