Affiliation: | 1. Chair of Food Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, 01062 Germany;2. Chair of Food Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, 01062 Germany Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Methodology (equal), Project administration (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal);3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, HD1 3DH UK;4. Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, 20133 Italy;5. Department of Chemistry, Centre for Analysis & Synthesis, Lund University, Lund, 22100 Sweden;6. Departamento de Tecnología de Alimentos, Food Microstructure and Chemistry Research Group, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, 46022 Spain;7. Chair of Food Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, 01062 Germany Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Methodology (equal), Writing - review & editing (equal) |
Abstract: | Juice-pressing residues, among them blackcurrant pomace, are valuable materials for being upgraded in food products. Their excellent nutritional profiles in line with their functional properties allow a wide range of applications. The current study was performed to evaluate the overall liking of a pomace-enriched thin crispy-baked bread product in five European countries, and to obtain suggestions for improvements. Moreover, data on the frequency of snack consumption, openness to new foods and an opinion on residues in food applications were acquired. Four hundred and sixty-six consumers from United Kingdom, Spain, Sweden, Italy and Germany were involved. On a 9-point hedonic scale, the pomace cracker was rated towards the direction of liking with 5.94 ± 1.90 on average. Contingency tables showed that the overall-liking correlated highly significant (p < 0.01) with the country of origin and sex of the respondents and their openness to new products. Significantly higher liking scores were provided by British and Spanish consumers and, among these respondents, savoury snacks were stated to be consumed most frequently. Therefore, the snack consumption frequency also appeared to be a driver for cross-national differences in hedonic responses. The consent for using pomace in food products was remarkably high (>90%) in all countries and stresses consumer awareness in terms of healthy longevity and sustainability. |