Questionnaire Design: Carry‐Over Effects of Overall Acceptance Question Placement and Pre‐evaluation Instructions on Overall Acceptance Scores in Central Location Tests

Question placement and usage of pre‐evaluation instructions (PEI) in questionnaires for food sensory analysis may bias consumers’ scores via carry‐over effects. Data from consumer sensory panels previously conducted at a central location, spanning 11 years and covering a broad range of food product categories, were compiled. Overall acceptance (OA) question placement was studied with categories designated as first (the first evaluation question following demographic questions), after nongustation questions (immediately following questions that do not require panelists to taste the product), and later (following all other hedonic and just‐about‐right [JAR] questions, but occasionally before ranking, open‐ended comments, and/or intent to purchase questions). Each panel was categorized as having or not having PEI in the questionnaire; PEI are instructions that appear immediately before the first evaluation question and show panelists all attributes they will evaluate before receiving test samples. Postpanel surveys were administered regarding the self‐reported effect of PEI on panelists’ evaluation experience. OA scores were analyzed and compared (1) between OA question placement categories and (2) between panels with and without PEI. For most product categories, OA scores tended to be lower when asked later in the questionnaire, suggesting evidence of a carry‐over effect. Usage of PEI increased OA scores by 0.10 of a 9‐point hedonic scale point, which is not practically significant. Postpanel survey data showed that presence of PEI typically improved the panelists’ experience. Using PEI does not appear to introduce a meaningful carry‐over effect.     

A New Method for Characterizing Mechanical Properties of Meat Product under Stress-Relaxation Based on Gaussian Curve-Fitting

Texture profile analysis has been shown as an effective method for evaluating the quality of meats under different modes. The most common texture profile analysis mode, the two-bite test, is widely used to simulate chewing; however, the consistency is not always satisfactory. In the present study, another test mode (stress-relaxation test) was applied and the data were fitted to Gaussian function using 12 coefficients. A series of indices (X₁: the X-value of the point had greatest curvature of the fitted curve; X₂: the x-value of the point that the tangential slope of the fitted curve was –0.01; X₂-X₁: X₂ minus X₁; Y₂: the y-value of the point that the tangential slope of the fitted curve was –0.01) was chosen from the fitted curve to estimate the texture in the stress-relaxation test, and the coefficient of variation of the indices of the two methods was also evaluated. In general, the new method showed improved consistency that may be suitable for evaluation of meat texture.     

Use of Consumer Acceptability as a Tool to Determine the Level of Sodium Reduction: A Case Study on Beef Soup Substituted With Potassium Chloride and Soy‐Sauce Odor

In this study, consumer acceptability was considered as a tool of reducing sodium rather than just using it as a final examination of the successfulness of the substitution. This study consisted of 4 experimental steps. First, by gradually reducing the concentrations of NaCl, consumer rejection threshold (CRT) of NaCl in beef soup was examined. Then, the amount of KCl that can increase preference was examined in 2 low sodium beef soups, with sodium concentrations slightly above or below the CRT. Relative saltiness of various KCl and NaCl/KCl mixtures were also measured. Finally, consumers evaluated acceptability and intensities of sensory characteristics for 9 beef soup samples that differed with respect to NaCl content and/or KCl content with/without addition of salty‐congruent odor (soy‐sauce odor). The results showed that in the “above CRT” system, consumer acceptability as well as sensory profile of low sodium beef soup substituted using KCl had similar profile to the control although saltiness was not fully recovered, whereas in the “below CRT” system, consumer acceptability was not recovered using KCl solely as a substitute. Potential of using salty‐congruent odor as a final touch to induce salty taste was observed; however, the results inferred the importance of having almost no artificialness in the odor and having harmony with the final product when using it as a strategy to substitute sodium. Overall, the results of the study implied the importance of considering consumer acceptability when approaching sodium reduction to better understand the potentials of the sodium substitutes and salty‐congruent odor.     

Identification of Drivers of Liking for Bar‐Type Snacks Based on Individual Consumer Preference

Understanding consumer hedonic responses on food products are of greatest interests in global food industry. A global partial least square regression (GPLSR) had been well accepted method for understanding consumer preferences. Recently, individual partial least square regression (IPLSR) was accepted as an alternative method of predicting consumer preferences on given food product, because it utilizes the individual differences on product acceptability. To improve the understanding of what constitutes bar‐type snack preference, the relationship between sensory attributes and consumer overall liking for 12 bar‐type snacks was determined. Sensory attributes that drive consumer product likings were analyzed using averaged‐consumer data by GPLSR. To facilitate the interpretation of individual consumer liking, a dummy matrix for the significant weighted regression coefficients of each consumer derived from IPLSR was created. From the application of GPLSR and IPLSR, current study revealed that chocolate and cereal‐flavored bars were preferred over fruit‐flavored bars. Attributes connected to chocolate flavor positively influenced consumer overall likings on the global and individual consumer levels. Textural attributes affected liking only on the individual level. To fully capture the importance of sensory attributes on consumer preference, the use of GPLSR in conjunction with IPLSR is recommended.     

A review of research on plant‐based meat alternatives: Driving forces,history, manufacturing,and consumer attitudes

The topic of plant‐based meat alternatives (PBMAs) has been discussed for several decades, but it has only recently become one of the hottest topics in the food and research communities. With the purpose of investigating the current situation of scientific research on PBMA and determining future research opportunities, the driving forces for PBMA development, a brief history of its progression, key technologies required for production, and the resulting consumer attitudes are summarized. Environmental, human health, and animal welfare concerns are the main factors that have driven the development of PBMA. Although its history can trace back to ancient Asian civilizations, the first generation of PBMA originated in 1960s and a new generation of PBMA designed for carnivore was developed in recently years. Structuring methods such as extrusion and shear cell techniques have been widely studied, but improvements toward the overall appearance and flavor, biological and chemical safety control, as well as the selection of protein sources are also very important for PBMA production. The consumer acceptance of PBMA remains unsatisfactory but is continually improving. Based on those knowledge, future research opportunities include developing more effective strategies for consumer education, providing more scientific evidence for the health properties of PBMA, finding more suitable protein sources to improve the quality of the final products, improving the appearance and flavor, further examining and securing the chemical safety, exploring the structure formation mechanism during the extraction or shearing processes, and developing methods and standards for a quality evaluation of PBMA.     

Dispersive Micro‐Solid‐Phase Extraction Based on Decanoic Acid Coated‐Fe3O4 Nanoparticles for HPLC Analysis of Phthalate Esters in Liquor Samples

A novel, simple and low cost through coating Fe₃O₄ magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) with decanoic acid were synthesized. The functionalized MNPs showed excellent dispersibility in aqueous solution and were applied to dispersive micro‐solid‐phase extraction (D‐μ‐SPE) followed by high performance liquid chromatographic analysis for 4 phthalate esters (PAEs) including benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dicyclohexyl phthalate (DCHP), di‐n‐butyl phthalate (DBP), and di‐n‐octyl phthalate (DNOP) from liquor samples. The extraction equilibrium is achieved in 1 min. The MNPs allow easy and rapid isolation of PAEs by using an external magnet, which can be reused 5 times. The 4 PAEs linear dynamic ranges were in the range of 5 to 1000 ng/mL and the correlation coefficients values were 0.9999. The limits of detection were in the range of 0.91 to 2.43 ng/mL. The influences of the adsorbent dosage and the use frequency of adsorbent, the adsorption time, the solution pH and ionic strength were investigated and optimized. The proposed method was used to determine of PAEs in liquor samples and recoveries between 88.9% and 105.4%, with the relative standard deviations were below 4.0%.     

Gas Permeability and Thermal Behavior of Polypropylene Films Used for Packaging Minimally Processed Fresh‐Cut Potatoes: A Case Study

Abstract: This work reports an experimental study on the permeability and thermal behavior of commercial polypropylene (PP) film used for fresh‐cut potatoes packaging. The permeability was tested using oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, mix of these 3 gases, normally used for modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and Air, to understand if it would be possible to extend the shelf life of this food product designed for the catering field in respect to the packaging behavior. The temperature influence on permeability data, from 5 to 40 °C, was analyzed, before and after 4, 8, 12, 15, and 20 d of food contact, pointing out the dependence between temperature and gas transmission rate (GTR), solubility (S), diffusion coefficient (D), and time lag (t_L) parameters. The activation energies (E) of the permeation process were determined with the different gases used in the experiments. The thermal behavior of PP film was studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TG) to well understand its thermal stability. Fourier transformed‐infrared with attenuated total reflectance (FT‐IR/ATR) spectroscopy was also performed in order to study the influence of the food contact on the chemical characteristics of the polymer film. The results obtained were discussed and compared each other. Studied samples showed, for all investigated gases, an increase of gas permeability and S values at higher temperature. Heat resistance classification among the sample as it is and stored in modified atmospheres was made. Finally all performed experiments have showed good polymer stability for the shelf‐life storage potatoes under study. Practical Application: Study of packaging material was performed in a range of temperature, which can simulate the service condition to assess the suitability of a commercial polymer film for modified atmosphere packaging of fresh‐cut potatoes minimally processed designed for catering purpose.     

A Natural Experiment: Using Immersive Technologies to Study the Impact of “All‐Natural” Labeling on Perceived Food Quality,Nutritional Content,and Liking

The “all‐natural” label is used extensively in the United States. At many point‐of‐purchase locations, employed servers provide food samples and call out specific label information to influence consumers’ purchase decisions. Despite these ubiquitous practices, it is unclear what information is conveyed to consumers by the all‐natural label or how it impacts judgments of perceived food quality, nutritional content, and acceptance. We used a novel approach incorporating immersive technology to simulate a virtual in‐store sampling scenario where consumers were asked by a server to evaluate identical products with only one being labeled all‐natural. Another condition evaluated the impact of the in‐store server additionally emphasizing the all‐natural status of one sample. Results indicated the all‐natural label significantly improved consumer's perception of product quality and nutritional content, but not liking or willingness to pay, when compared to the regular sample. With the simple emphasis of the all‐natural claim by the in‐store server, these differences in quality and nutritional content became even more pronounced, and willingness to pay increased significantly by an average of 8%. These results indicate that in a virtual setting consistent with making food purchases, an all‐natural front‐of‐pack label improves consumer perceptions of product quality and nutritional content. In addition, information conveyed to consumers by employed servers has a further, substantial impact on these variables suggesting that consumers are highly susceptible to social influence at the point of purchase.     

A Comparative Study Between Labeling and Reality: The Case of Phytochemical Composition of Commercial Pomegranate‐Based Products

Manufacturers are deeply involved in the development of new pomegranate‐based products, which have acquired great prestige due to many studies proving their potential health benefits. Commercial pomegranate products including capsules and supplements and juices and nectars were assayed. The contents of the key phytochemical compounds (punicalagin, ellagic acid, and total polyphenolic content) and the associated antioxidant capacity (DPPH^?, ABTS^?+, and FRAP) were analyzed. The experimental ranges of punicalagin and ellagic acid contents were 0.96 to 308 mg/g and 0.09 to 13.1 mg/g, respectively. Punicalagin content was positively correlated (P < 0.001) with DPPH^? and total polyphenolic content values. No significant (P > 0.05) correlation was observed among ellagic acid with the antioxidant capacity. The labeling standardization of these products is necessary due to the wide variability among “theoretically” similar pomegranate‐based products.     

利用人工神经网络量化分析出版业发展的研究

简要说明人工神经网络的原理及优势，研究建立了基于人工神经网络的出版业发展量化分析模型，并为模拟1978～1998生我国出版业的发展趋势进行了仿真实验，结果显示该方法有效可行。     

The Peroxide Challenge Test: A Novel Method for Holistic Near‐Real Time Measurement of Beer Flavour Stability

A holistic approach is paramount to reliably measure beer staling. As a consequence, the peroxide challenge test (PCT) was developed as an alternative to electron spin resonance (ESR). The principle of the PCT is to mimic oxidation by titrating beer with hydrogen peroxide. The more hydrogen peroxide a beer can quench, the more resistant it is against oxidation and flavour deterioration. The PCT allows cost effective, near real time, high throughput assessment of beer flavour stability. The PCT is convenient and inexpensive to perform and the results correlate with ESR measurements and the perceived aged character of beer.     

Loop‐Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP): A Rapid and Sensitive Tool for Quality Assessment of Meat Products

Loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a novel method that amplifies target nucleic acids under isothermal conditions. It is a rapid, specific, and sensitive method, which does not require costly thermal cyclers for the detection of nucleic acids. Thus, it is suitable for on‐site detection assays under low‐resource settings. It can also be integrated on compact lab‐on‐a‐chip devices for the development of micro‐total analysis systems. This review discusses LAMP‐based methods, as well as LAMP‐based centrifugal, microfluidic, and other fluid‐handling devices, which have been developed for the assessment of meat quality parameters that are related to the presence or absence of nucleic acids, for example, animal species identification and microbiological quality. Advances in improving the rapidity, specificity, and sensitivity of LAMP techniques for the assessment of these meat quality parameters are also discussed in this review.     

Review on the Use of Cell Cultures to Study Metabolism,Transport, and Accumulation of Flavonoids: From Mono‐Cultures to Co‐Culture Systems

The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive discussion on the various human/animal cell‐based models used to study the absorption, transport, and metabolism of flavonoids. Flavonoids are plant‐based bioactive compounds that have been extensively investigated for their active role in health alleviation and disease prevention. For this purpose, cell lines isolated from various human and animal tissues have been routinely used as an in vitro model to assess the bioavailability and bioactivity of these compounds. This paper reviews for the first time various transporters (SLCT, SGLT, bilitranslocase, and ABC transporters), metabolic routes (deglycosylation, glucuronidation, sulfation, and deconjugation), and accumulation of flavonoids in different cell lines commonly used in flavonoid research. Also, the use of co‐culture systems to study flavonoid bioactivity will be discussed. To date, no definite mono‐culture or co‐culture formulation has been generally accepted to be the most accurate representation of the in vivo situation. Therefore, further investigation and improvement of cell‐based in vitro models for flavonoid research merit further investigation.