Consumers’ willingness to pay for upcycled foods

Research on food waste reduction suggests that solutions aimed at reducing waste early in the consumption cycle are the most impactful. Based on this premise, food research labs and food manufacturers have started creating and selling foods made from food ingredients that are generally discarded. Such foods, termed upcycled foods, are safe for human consumption and provide a promising solution to reduce food waste. However, the commercial success of this new category of foods will depend on consumers’ acceptance. This research examines a key indicator of acceptance – consumers’ willingness to pay. We find that although consumers are willing to pay less for upcycled foods compared to conventional alternatives, messaging increases consumers’ willingness to pay. Specifically, we find that rational messaging is more effective than emotional messaging. Overall, our findings suggest that upcycled foods may command good acceptance among consumers.     

Tropane alkaloid contamination of agricultural commodities and food products in relation to consumer health: Learnings from the 2019 Uganda food aid outbreak

Tropane alkaloids (TAs) are secondary plant metabolites derived mainly from Solanaceae plant families, with the most virulent invasive species being Datura stramonium. Datura stramonium commonly grows in cereal fields and produce TAs (e.g., hyoscyamine and scopolamine) which may accidentally contaminate cereals (and cereal-based foods) at occasionally high levels. Dietary exposure to TAs can be toxic and depending on the dose ingested can cause outcomes ranging from anticholinergic effects to acute poisoning and death. In 2019, 315 adults became ill and another five adults died in Uganda following consumption of a “Super Cereal” (a fortified blended food) that was later confirmed to be contaminated by TAs—a scenario which provoked this holistic review on TAs in foodstuffs. Thus, this article provides information on the history, development, occurrences, exposures, and human legislative and health benchmarks for TAs. It describes control strategies for reducing TA contamination of agricultural commodities and resultant health implications following consumption of TA contaminated foodstuffs. Adequate application of food safety control measures (including maximum limits) and good practices, from the start of cereal cultivation through to the final stages of manufacturing of food products can aid in the reduction of seeing toxic plants including D. stramonium in cereal fields.     

香肠整体营养价值评价与包装正面标签应用研究进展

为促进我国消费者对香肠的合理消费与饮食健康，引导企业生产营养健康的香肠，利用《中国食物成分表》（第1册第2版）的16 种香肠及其营养素数据，构建富含营养素食物（nutrient-rich foods，NRF9.3）模型，评价香肠整体营养价值，并借鉴瑞典的锁孔（Keyhole）标识和英国的多交通灯信号标签进行相应的包装正面（front of package，FOP）标签应用探索。结果表明：除了儿童肠、火腿肠外，14 种香肠的NRF9.3＜0，每100 kcal的推荐性营养素含量均低于限制性营养素，对人体的营养价值较低，适合采用总结指示体系和特定营养素体系的FOP标签进行标示；因此，居民日常应限制香肠摄入，建议对脂肪、盐含量超标的香肠采用红色交通灯信号标签提醒消费者，对NRF9.3＞0的香肠实施单一的健康选择标识推荐消费者选购。     

食物致敏原表位定位技术的研究进展

食物致敏原是引起食物过敏的元凶，多为蛋白质。抗原表位是在抗原分子中与抗体反应或被抗原受体识别，并引发机体免疫应答的特殊化学基团。从表位水平认识食物致敏原，能揭示食物过敏的物质基础，为解决食物过敏问题提供精准的靶标。本文基于表位结构和定位方法的不同，介绍了食物致敏原表位定位技术的发展，并进一步展望了致敏原表位信息对于改进食物过敏鉴定技术和低致敏食物加工方法的应用前景。     

Weissella cibaria short-fermented liquid sourdoughs based on quinoa or amaranth flours as fat replacer in focaccia bread formulation

Production of the traditional Italian Focaccia bread (FcBread) requires reformulation to meet the new rules for healthier foods. We tested the applicability of a short-fermented (15 h) liquid sourdough (LS) (dough yield, DY, 250), obtained using quinoa (Q) or amaranth (Am) flour fermented with a Weissella cibaria strain (C43-11) producing exopolysaccharides (EPS) as fat replacer in yeast-leavened FcBread. The LSs were applied during the FcBread-making process at industrial pilot plant, reducing the added fat amount by 20% (FcBread-QLS and FcBread-AmLS) and products were compared with reference samples not containing EPS. All the products were analysed for physico-chemical properties (pH, TTA, organic acids, protein content and profile, instrumental colour), textural properties, sensory quality and glycemic index. The application of both pseudo-cereal-based W. cibaria LSs in FcBread allowed obtaining products with a reduced amount of fat, increased protein amount, mainly due to the albumin and glutenin/glutelin fractions, reduced glycemic index, improved texture and preserved in the traditional sensory profile of ‘focaccia’.     

Understanding the psychological benefits in organic consumerism: An empirical exploration

This research builds on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) by proposing two additional constructs: warm glow and self-expressive benefits which could further drive consumer attitude and purchase intentions in the context of organic food consumption. We employed structural equation modelling (SEM) technique with Smart PLS 3.0 (Partial Least Squares) for the analysis of the hypothesised relationships between these psychological factors and the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). The theoretical model was tested with samples from India (n = 471) and the USA (n = 440) collected using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (M Turk). Results confirmed the importance of warm glow and self-expressive benefits in organic consumerism in both markets. The study makes an important contribution in adding these two constructs to the TPB and then suggests practical tips to policy makers.     

Conceptualizing “free-from” food consumption determinants: A systematic integrative literature review focused on gluten and lactose

BackgroundGluten- and lactose-free products are registering a sudden rise in the market, particularly among tolerant people, and this leads to consumer confusion and nutritional inadequacies. The number of studies around this trend has steadily increased in the last 10 years, as scholars from different disciplines have tried to rationalize consumers’ behaviours in these foods’ choice. However, the scientific debate appears fragmented and lacks an integrated view.ObjectivesWe conducted a systematic integrative review of consumers’ determinants of gluten-free and lactose-free consumption to frame the state of the art and research gaps.Methods45 English language articles reporting quantitative empirical studies ranging from 1971 and 2019 were analysed. First we categorized the consumption determinants in six factors applying the model proposed by Koster and Mojet, then we proposed a new integrated conceptualization inspired by Bronfenbrenner’s Transtheoretical Model. Moreover, differences and similarities between tolerant and intolerant consumers will be highlighted.ResultsResearch on intolerant consumers focused more on individuals’ determinants, in terms of awareness, trust, morality, and capability to read nutritional facts (as purchase facilitators); while studies targeting tolerant consumers focused more on objective product characteristics (with price and availability in supermarkets as barriers for consumption). In this target the subjective perspective has been studied only referring to the risk for developing psychological issues in the restrictive diet.ConclusionAs information is lacking in the scientific debate, we suggest for future research the integration of consumers’ subjective implicit levers to decipher free-from purchase behaviours.     

Informative and corrective responsive packaging: Advances in farm-to-fork monitoring and remediation of food quality and safety

Microbial growth and fluctuations in environmental conditions have been shown to cause microbial contamination and deterioration of food. Thus, it is paramount to develop reliable strategies to effectively prevent the sale and consumption of contaminated or spoiled food. Responsive packaging systems are designed to react to specific stimuli in the food or environment, such as microorganisms or temperature, then implement an informational or corrective response. Informative responsive packaging is aimed at continuously monitoring the changes in food or environmental conditions and conveys this information to the users in real time. Meanwhile, packaging systems with the capacity to control contamination or deterioration are also of great interest. Encouragingly, corrective responsive packaging attempting to mitigate the adverse effects of condition fluctuations on food has been investigated. This packaging exerts its effects through the triggered release of active agents by environmental stimuli. In this review, informative and corrective responsive packaging is conceptualized clearly and concisely. The mechanism and characteristics of each type of packaging are discussed in depth. This review also summarized the latest research progress of responsive packaging and objectively appraised their advantages. Evidently, the mechanism through which packaging systems respond to microbial contamination and associated environmental factors was also highlighted. Moreover, risk concerns, related legislation, and consumer perspective in the application of responsive packaging are discussed as well. Broadly, this comprehensive review covering the latest information on responsive packaging aims to provide a timely reference for scientific research and offer guidance for presenting their applications in food industry.     

Effects of food container depth on the quality and yield of superchilled and iced Atlantic salmon

Insulated food containers of different sizes are commonly used to preserve the quality of perishable fresh fish products during transport and storage. The aim of the study was to explore the effects of packaging solutions with various depths on the quality of iced and superchilled farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). Insulated containers of different depths (32, 42, and 60 cm) and 17-cm deep expanded polystyrene (EPS) boxes were used to simulate transport and storage of the fish. The fish quality was evaluated after 4, 10, and 14 days of storage, where measurements on drip loss, texture, cooking yield, sensory evaluation, water and lipid distribution, and characteristics analysis in the fish muscle by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy were performed. Increased container depth from 32 to 42 cm increased the drip loss of superchilled salmon from 2.4% to 3.1% after 10 days of storage at −1°C. Iced storage of salmon for 10 days in EPS boxes resulted in less drip loss (0.5%) compared with superchilled salmon (1.5%) stored in EPS. The NMR analysis, sensory evaluation, texture analysis, and cooking yield did not reveal any major differences between salmon stored in containers of different depths. Iced storage increased pressure marks as compared with non-iced, superchilled storage in insulated containers. The results indicate that transport of whole salmon in reusable insulated plastic containers with a depth of 60 cm is possible without major quality changes observed for up to 10 days.