The influence of product preparation,familiarity and individual traits on the consumer acceptance of insects as food

Insects are highly valued as food in many cultures but have only recently gained interest in the West as a sustainable alternative to reduce the environmental impact of meat production. Despite the growing consumer interest in insect consumption, there is still a great disparity between curious trying and actual acceptance. The aim of this study was to examine how the product preparation, familiarity and individual traits (e.g. food neophobia) influence the consumer acceptance of insects as food. Dutch consumers (n = 976) evaluated 8 mealworm product images on 4 acceptability measures (product appropriateness, expected sensory-liking, willingness to buy, willingness to try). Product images varied according to mealworm visibility (visible/invisible), carrier flavour (savoury/sweet) and carrier origin (Western/Asian). High product acceptability was not simply achieved by adding mealworms to familiar foods. Acceptability depended very much on the perceived appropriateness of mealworms as food and the perceived appropriateness of the product combination. However, mealworm products were always expected to be inferior to the carrier products, even when visually identical. Familiarity with mealworms and individual traits played a relatively minor role, and influenced the willingness to try more than the other acceptability measures. We conclude that appropriate product design is important but insufficient to achieve consumer acceptance of insects as food in the West. Additional incentives are required to encourage acceptance beyond the mere willingness to try. We discuss the complexities underlying the consumer acceptance of insects as food and reflect on how acceptance might be increased in the future.     

Use of preference mapping to relate consumer preference to the sensory properties of a processed meat product (tinned cat food)

The technique of generalised Procrustes analysis was applied to laboratory panel assessments of appearance, texture and aroma properties of ten commercial variants of tinned cat food. These assessments were made using free-choice profiling and were compared with results obtained from a subsequent fixed-choice profiling experiment. A consumer trial was also performed in a local supermarket to collect preference scores for the cat food, and these scores were related to the laboratory assessments using preference mapping. These techniques can be used by product developers to ascertain the properties of meat products that are important in determining consumer preference.     

Assessment of nanoparticle paprika oleoresin on marinating performance and sensory acceptance of poultry meat

The effects of nanoparticle paprika oleoresin (1 and 3 g/100 mL) and carrier system (water/milk) on the physical and sensory properties of cooked marinated chicken were investigated. Marinade absorption, cooking loss, surface colour (L1, a1, b1 values), penetration force, moisture and fat content were measured. Sensory properties, including; surface colour (orange, red), colour penetration, aroma, toughness, juiciness, flavour acceptability, paprika flavour, saltiness, hotness and overall acceptability were also evaluated using 25 naïve assessors (consumers). 3 g/100 mL paprika produced greater surface CIE a1 (redness) and b1 (yellowness), sensory surface orange, red and colour penetration attributes. The carrier 0/100 (water to milk ratio) with nanoparticle paprika oleoresin was shown to increase the colour quality of cooked marinated chicken by increasing (P < 0.05) surface CIE a1 (redness) and b1 (yellowness) value, whereas the 100/0 water to milk ratio carrier system provided a better colour penetration. In conclusion the application of nanoparticle paprika successfully enhanced marinating performance.     

Estimation of crispness and consumer acceptance of fried potato chips by mechanical and acoustic measurements

Fried potato chips retaining various moisture contents (MCs) (2.21–9.20%) were analysed to estimate the intensity of crispness and consumer acceptance by texture and acoustic measurements. The MC of the chips was highly correlated with the mechanical maximum force (MMF) in the texture measurement, total area (MTA) and number of sound peaks (NSP) in the acoustic measurement. The intensities of crispness and consumer acceptance decreased as the MC of potato chips increased. For the predictive models established, the combined use of mechanical and acoustic parameters was shown to better predict sensory crispness intensity [R² = 0.975, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) = 0.138] and consumer overall liking (R² = 0.966, RMSEP = 0.111) than either parameter alone. Based on the instrumental‐sensory crispness equivalent table established, the estimated values of the MTA were below 71.24, while the NSP should be above 22.81 to meet ‘slightly like’ category of consumer acceptance.     

Effect of inulin on the textural and sensory properties of mortadella, a Spanish cooked meat product

Inulin is a fructooligosaccharide with demonstrable beneficial effects on health. Its effect on the textural and sensory properties of mortadella, a Spanish cooked meat product, was studied. Conventional (23% fat) and reduced‐fat sausages (10% fat) were prepared. Fat reduction yields an energy value reduction close to 33%. In both cases, inulin was incorporated, in powder and as gel form, in sufficient amounts to constitute the 2.5%, 5% and 7.5% of the final product. To evaluate the effect of inulin, instrumental measures of texture and sensory analysis (hedonic test) were performed. Textural analysis indicated that powdered inulin increases hardness and this fact was more evident in reduced‐fat sausages which showed that this changes even at concentrations of 2.5%. However, when inulin was incorporated as a gel, textural parameter changed only when the high levels were assayed (7.5%) showing softer sausages independent of the fat content. Sensory analysis was highly favourable and the overall acceptability was good in all batches in spite of the changes observed in texture. It can be established that this product can be enriched with inulin to a maximum level of 7.5% and preferably as gel with a good sensory quality.     

The potential impact of current animal research on the meat industry and consumer attitudes towards meat

Progress in animal nutrition, reproduction, quantitative genetics, and the development of molecular genetics, proteomics, and functional genomics open new perspectives for the meat sector. The most promising developments include a wider utilisation of molecular markers, the possibilities of semen sexing and the targeted use of nutrition to modify the composition of meat. The increased use of biotechnology will have a considerable impact on the economics of production of meat and further processed products. New technologies will increase the possibilities for product differentiation and improve homogeneity of live animals. The consumer and society in general will influence the direction of these developments. This review will focus on the long-term impact of new technologies for the meat production chain.     

Effect of radio frequency cooking on the texture, colour and sensory properties of a large diameter comminuted meat product

Radio frequency (RF) cooking is a form of dielectric heating similar to microwave heating. In this study an optimised cooking protocol was developed for pasteurising 1 kg cased meat emulsion samples, which were immersed in 80 °C circulating water during cooking. Subsequently, selected quality attributes of RF pasteurised samples were compared to steam pasteurised samples, by instrumental and sensory methods. Instrumental assessments show that RF heated meat batters had a greater ability to hold water, were significantly harder, chewier and gummier (P<0.001), while having less cook colour development than their steam cooked counterparts. Differences were also detected by sensory methods. In conclusion, while differences were detected, it is possible that these could be eliminated by adjusting the cooking protocol to produce similar cook values in RF samples to those in products cooked by steam.     

Correlations of sensory and instrumental meat tenderness values as affected by sampling techniques

A study was conducted to determine if and to what extent higher correlations between sensory meat tenderness scores and Warner-Bratzler shear measurements could be obtained by giving the sensory panelists cores rather than slices. Thirty biceps femoris roasts, from gilts representing two breeds and two lines, were cooked in preheated ovens at 160, 170 or 180°C to an internal temperature of 80°C. Roasts were held for 24 h at 4°C before sampling. Cores, both perpendicular and parallel to the direction of the muscle fibres, for the eight panelists and the instrument, as well as slices for the panelists, were sampled from each roast. Instrumental values were measured with an Instron fitted with a Warner-Bratzler shear device. Correlations were higher when cores of the same orientation were used for panelists and the Warner-Bratzler measurements. Parallel cores did as well as or better than perpendicular cores in terms of the analysis of variance and correlation values.     

Effect of branched-chain fatty acids, 3-methylindole and 4-methylphenol on consumer sensory scores of grilled lamb meat

Tenderness, flavour, overall liking and odour are important components of sheepmeat eating quality. Consumer assessment of these attributes has been made for carcasses from the Information Nucleus Flock (INF) of the Cooperative Research Centre for Sheep Industry Innovation. The concentrations of three branched chain fatty acids, 4-methyloctanoic (MOA), 4-ethyloctanoic (EOA) and 4-methylnonanoic acids (compounds related to ‘mutton flavour’ in cooked sheepmeat) and 3-methylindole and 4-methylphenol (compounds related to ‘pastoral’ flavour) were determined for 178 fat samples taken from INF carcasses. Statistical modelling revealed that both MOA and EOA impacted on the ‘Like Smell’ consumer sensory score of the cooked meat product (P < 0.05), with increasing concentration causing lower consumer acceptance of the product. None of the compounds though had an effect on the liking of flavour. Obviously, reducing the effect of MOA and EOA on the odour of grilled lamb will improve consumer acceptance of the cooked product but other factors affecting the eating quality also need to be considered.     

The influence of exhaustion and electrical stimulation on the meat quality of young bulls: Part 2-Physical and sensory properties

The physical and sensory properties of meat from sixteen exhausted and sixteen gently treated young bulls were investigated. The influence of electrical stimulation was also studied. The meat was divided into three groups-meat with ultimate pH ≤ 5·80 (normal meat), 5·81-6·19 (medium meat) and ≥6·20 (DFD meat), respectively. DFD meat showed typical DFD properties and had a higher initial tenderness but a smaller increase in tenderness than normal meat during storage. The medium meat was tough and behaved in some ways as DFD meat and in others like normal meat. Lower correlation between shear force measurement and sensory evaluated tenderness was obtained for DFD than for normal meat. The cooking loss of DFD meat was about 10% lower than that of normal and medium meat. No significant correlation could be found between storage loss, cooking loss, frying loss and juiciness. The electrically stimulated meat was-especially for normal meat-more tender and juicy than unstimulated meat. No obvious influence due to electrical stimulation was noticed on colour, cooking loss, frying loss or storage loss. Electrical stimulation of stressed, but not exhausted, animals may produce meat with PSE properties.     

Effect of radio frequency (RF) heating on the texture,colour and sensory properties of a comminuted pork meat product

Radio frequency (RF) cooking is a form of dielectric heating in which products are heated by subjecting them to an alternating electromagnetic field between two parallel electrodes. Although similar in some respects to Microwave heating, RF has been proposed to be more suitable for industrial heating of meats because of the greater penetration depths possible with this technology. In this study an RF cooking protocol was developed and its effect on selected quality attributes of pork based white pudding was examined. Whilst cooking of the product in air proved unfeasible due to arcing, use of a polyethylene cell with circulating hot water (80 °C) facilitated successful heating of the product. Application of RF using an optimised cooking protocol (RF power = 450 W, cell volume = 500 ml and continuous circulation) resulted in a mean end-point temperature of 73 °C after 7 min 40 s. Similar mean end-point temperatures in water bath and steam oven heated products were achieved after 29 and 33 min, respectively. A factorial experiment was conducted to assess selected quality attributes of the cooked puddings. Results show that RF heated puddings were not significantly different (P > 0.05) from water bath and steam oven heated products with regard to instrumental colour, instrumental texture (Kramer shear and texture profile analysis) and expressible fluid. Furthermore, results of a sensory similarity test involving 60 panellists indicated that panellists were not able to detect differences between puddings cooked by RF and conventional methods. Overall this suggests that RF heating technology could have potential in pasteurisation of meat products though further work is needed to verify this.     

Texture,sensory and swallowing characteristics of high-pressure-heat-treated pork meat gel as a dysphagia diet

To develop a soft meat product for a dysphagia diet, high-pressure technology was applied. Pressure-heat-treated ground pork meat (PH) was prepared from ground pork mixed with water (ground meat: water, 1:0.5 or 1:1) and salt (1.5%). PH-gels were made from these meat homogenates by treatment at 400 MPa for 20 min, followed by heat treatment. Heat-treated pork meat homogenates (H) were also prepared. The hardness and adhesiveness of the 1:1PH-gel was lower than those of the 1:1H-gel. The PH-gel scored higher in sensory evaluations of elasticity, smoothness and ease of swallowing. Scanning electron micrographs indicated that the superior textural property of the 1:1PH-gel was caused by a network of myosin filaments. Videofluoroscopic examination of swallowing revealed that the 1:1PH-gel was easy to swallow and left little residue in the oropharynx. These results proved the utility of pressurization in creating a dysphagia meat diet.     

Factors affecting the level of boar taint in entire male pigs as assessed by consumer sensory panel

A sensory study was conducted to determine consumer responses to meat from entire male pigs in order to evaluate different factors involved in causing boar taint, including 16-androstene steroids, skatole, size of accessory sexual glands and live weight. Pork chops from 33 entire Yorkshire male pigs were divided into three groups according to the levels of 16-androstene steroids in salivary glands, high (H; 56-114 μg/g), medium (M; 35-55 μg/g) and low (L; 26-6 μg/g), and were distributed among 59 families. Pork chops from gilts were used as control (C). The families were asked to rate liking of cooking aroma, flavour and texture, and overall liking. Consumer ratings were best related to the size of bulbourethral gland and salivary gland, followed by the levels of 16-androstene steroids in salivary gland. Meat from the L group received similar ratings to the C group, except the ratings for texture and overall liking were better than the C group. M samples were liked similarly to C, with the exception of some samples that had high fat skatole levels and which were liked less. H samples were liked less than C. The samples evaluated at the beginning of the experiment were liked more than those evaluated afterwards indicating sensitization of consumers to boar taint. The results indicate that levels of 16-androstenes in salivary glands can be used to estimate boar taint due to 16-androstenes; however, skatole measurements also need to be included. In addition, consumers are sensitive to some other maturity-related factors, which need to be considered when estimating the levels of boar taint. The effect of sensitization of consumers to boar taint requires more study.     

Effect of low-dose radiation on microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics of chicken meat stored aerobically at 4 degrees C

The effect of gamma-radiation (0.5, 1, and 2 kGy) on the shelf life of fresh skinless chicken breast fillets stored aerobically at 4 degrees C was evaluated. Microbiological, chemical, and sensorial changes occurring in chicken samples were monitored for 21 days. Irradiation reduced populations of bacteria, i.e., total viable bacteria, Brochothrix thermosphacta, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), and the effect was more pronounced at the highest dose (2 kGy). Pseudomonads, yeasts and molds, and Enterobacteriaceae were highly sensitive to gamma-radiation and were completely eliminated at all doses. Of the chemical indicators of spoilage, thiobarbituric values for nonirradiated and irradiated aerobically packaged chicken samples were in general low (<1 mg of malonaldehyde per kg of muscle) during refrigerated storage for 21 days. With regard to volatile amines, both trimethylamine nitrogen (TMA-N) and total volatile basic nitrogen (TVB-N) values for nonirradiated aerobically packaged chicken increased steeply, with final values of ca. 20.3 and 58.5 mg N/100 g of muscle, respectively. Irradiated aerobically packaged chicken samples had significantly lower TMA-N and TVB-N values (P < 0.05) of ca. 2.2 to 3.6 and 30.5 to 37.1 mg N/100 g of muscle, respectively, during refrigerated storage for 21 days. Of the biogenic amines monitored, only putrescine and cadaverine were detected in significant concentrations in both nonirradiated and irradiated chicken samples, whereas histamine formation was noted only in nonirradiated samples throughout storage. On the basis of sensorial evaluation, low-dose irradiation (0.5 and 1.0 kGy) in combination with aerobic packaging extended the shelf life of fresh chicken fillets by ca. 4 to 5 days, whereas irradiation at 2.0 kGy extended the shelf life by more than 15 days compared with that of nonirradiated chicken.     

Effects of meat piece size and phosphate on maximum slicing rate, cooking loss and sensory quality of a re-formed pigmeat shoulder product

Summary Two pre-tumbling treatment variables (meat piece size; raw product phosphate content) were evaluated for their effects on maximum slicing rate (MSR), cooking loss and sensory quality of a commercially produced, cooked re-formed pigmeat shoulder product. At 0.457% phosphate, incremental reductions in meat piece size which increased specific surface from 0.60 to 0.93 cm² cm⁻³ enabled MSR to increase from 300 to 400 slices min⁻¹, reduced cooking losses from 0.875 to 0.60% and gave a more tender product. At 0.60 cm² cm⁻³ specific surface, increasing phosphate incrementally from 0.457 to 0.532% produced similar positive effects on MSR and cooking loss but at phosphate above 0.482% sensory quality declined. Combination of optimal specific surface (0.93 cm² cm⁻³) and phosphate (0.482%) permitted a MSR of 420 slices min⁻¹, reduced cooking loss to 0.50% and gave an acceptable product. These process modifications can thus be advocated for improved production rate, yield and sensory quality.     

环境因子对Maillard反应形成肉香味的影响

文章浅述了肉香味,重点研究肉的化学组成、体系的水分含量、pH、反应温度/时间以及缓冲体系等环境因子对Maillard反应形成肉香味的影响.同时,就目前该领域的发展方向提出了一些建议,以期为天然肉味香精的生产控制提供理论依据.