Blueberry consumers prefer taste over health

A study has revealed that most of the blueberry buyers consume the fruit for its taste and not the health benefits.

According to the University of Florida researchers, about 61 percent of the blueberry consumers prefers flavor over health, while 39 percent believe the fruit, which contains antioxidants, provides health benefits.

Jim Olmstead, assistant professor, who will use the data to breed new types of blueberries, said that they were trying to determine what the consumers' perception of the ideal blueberry was.

Thomas Colquhoun, study's co-author, said that historically, many blueberry traits had been selected with producers in mind, including climate adaptation, yield, harvest potential and disease resistance.

He added that developing a new blueberry variety could take more than 10 years, so before investing that time, scientists and growers need to know what consumers want.

The study is published in the journal HortScience.