Union Evaluates Pudding in Survey; Rice-Raisin Mixture Shows Poorly

A poll conducted by the University Food Service to register the reaction of students to a rice and raisin pudding, was completed yesterday in the Union.

The pudding is being tested by the Freshman Union for General Mills, Inc., the cereal firm which supplied the samples. Through this poll, General Mills hopes to predict public response to its product if and when it becomes available on the open market.

Poll Results

Results of the poll show the pudding to be "not highly popular, but acceptable," Philip Bauer, one of two food buyers for Harvard, said yesterday.

Of the students canvassed, two-thirds said they would like to see the pudding offered less than once a week at the Union. The remaining third expressed the wish never to see it again in their lives. No one admitted loving it.

Attitudes varied as to exactly what was wrong with the pudding. Some felt that it was too sweet; others complained that it was overly spiced, while the purists lambasted the pudding for its artifical flavors.

At the same time that General Mills is considering the pudding's chances in the public, Harvard is weighing it for its own cupboards.

The use of a poll to determine a product's desirability is not the usual method of food selection at Harvard. Bauer pointed out that he, along with Harvard's various chefs, dietitians and dining room managers, normally makes such decisions in private sessions, during which samples are tested and examined.