Oral processing of food is the first step in the eating process. Although the food undergoes a number of changes during mastication that influence the subsequent steps, this stage has very often been ...neglected in studies of digestion, bioavailability, flavor release, satiety potential, glycemic index determination, etc. The present review draws on different sources such as nutrition, medicine, phoniatry and dentistry to explain some in vitro oral processing methods and techniques that could be transferred to food technology studies to mimic in vivo comminution, insalivation, and bolus formation, describing, as a necessary reference, the respective in vivo physiological processes they attempt to imitate.
Developing a deeper understanding of all the aspects of in-mouth process will help food technologists to give this crucial step the necessary attention its due importance and to consider better ways to incorporate it into their studies.
•Oral processing of food is so complex that faithful reproduction in vitro is impossible.•To plan reliable in vitro experiments it is first necessary to understand what happens in the mouth.•Instrumental comminution gives good results in terms of particle size.•Artificial saliva formulations mimic chemical and rheological characteristics of human saliva.•Instrumental visualization and characterization of the food bolus are important for understanding swallowing.
In-mouth texture largely determines the acceptability of ice cream, making it a key quality factor. Its perception involves movements of the tongue and other oral structures while the product melts ...and becomes a smooth, creamy viscous liquid as its temperature increases. Time is therefore an important issue in the sensory perception of ice cream, but has barely been considered in ice cream evaluation. In the present work, six ice cream samples with very different textures, formulated with milk, cream, egg, and hydrocolloids, were analysed by the Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) method. Iciness, coldness, creaminess, roughness, gumminess, and mouth coating were assessed. Hydrocolloids (and cream or egg to a lesser extent) modulated the temporal perception of ice cream attributes, reducing the first impact of sensations such as iciness and coldness. They also favoured an early perception of creaminess. Dynamic perception techniques combined with consumer sensory description by CATA (Check-all-that-apply) and liking scoring techniques gave a better understanding of which attributes drive consumer liking in relation to ice cream consumption.
Display omitted
•Each component contributes to the ice cream (IC) texture via complex interactions within the mouth.•The impact of sensations over the IC consumption time was investigated.•Hydrocolloids (Hs) modulate the perception of iciness and coldness.•Hs make it possible to formulate ice creams with an early perception of creaminess.•Creaminess drives consumer liking for IC, while ice crystals provide a negative sensation.
•Co-occurrence networks of tweets after manual coding and just cleaned were compared.•Cleaning and coding text provided networks with similar structure and terms relevance.•Most tweets on gluten free ...mention products: bread, cake, cookie, beer, and pizza.•Users share how to get gluten-free products (buying or preparing) or eating situations.
Gathering information from social networks such as Twitter has emerged to obtain spontaneous and direct opinions of users about a topic. This study focuses on using co-occurrence networks to analyse Twitter information. The objectives were to study the impact of text pre-treatment (codification based in qualitative analysis or just pre-cleaning) and to apply co-occurrence networks for analysing what is said on Twitter about specific topics like “gluten-free”. As such, 16,386 tweets in Spanish containing terms “sin-gluten” and “gluten-free” were collected. A subset of 3000 tweets was used to make co-occurrence networks two ways: i) from the manually coded text and ii) from pre-cleaned text. Results indicate that the co-occurrence network from pre-cleaned text provides meaningful information showing structure and relevance for terms like the network from coded text. The whole set of tweets was used to explore Twitter information on gluten-free, showing users share information about products, occasions, social situations, and places but also product characteristics, sensations, and diet or health issues related to the products. Five product categories, critical for the lack of gluten (bread, cake, cookie, beer, and pizza), occupied most tweets, and according to the related terms, were intended to recommend how to get (buying or cooking) these gluten-free products and to exhibit what (how, when, and where) they prepare and eat. These aspects were different among products, and separated co-occurrence networks allowed better identification.
The principal motivations for the worldwide trend towards reducing meat consumption are health, the environment and animal welfare. The present study investigated the willingness of omnivores to ...introduce mixed (beef-vegetable protein) and 100% vegetable protein products into their diet. The participants (n = 251) were young adult omnivores who consumed meat at least once a week. The stimuli were images of six different products representing two beef burgers, two mixed-protein burgers (50% beef and 50% seitan or soy) and two 100% vegetable protein burgers (seitan and soy). The participants were asked to write down spontaneous associations with each product (Word Association technique) and score their expected liking and purchase intention for them. In addition, they completed a questionnaire (36 statements) to evaluate their attitude towards meat reduction, considering six aspects: diet, habits, ethics, hedonism, health, and the environment. According to their response to these statements, they were classified into three attitude groups: anti- (ANTI, n = 106), intermediate- (INTERM, n = 89), and pro- (PRO, n = 56) meat reduction. All the participants expected to like the 100% beef burger most, the PRO group expected to like all six products to a similar degree and the ANTI group expected to like the mixed product significantly more than the 100% vegetable product, indicating that the introduction of mixed proteins could be a small first step towards meat reduction for those most attached to meat. The associations elicited by the different burgers were mostly the same but were mentioned with different frequencies, which also depended on the attitude group. These distinctive association patterns showed clear connections to the motives underlying each group's attitude towards meat reduction. It may be concluded that mixed products would be a reliable although timid option for consumers who are attached to meat to reduce their meat intake, while any of the products containing vegetable proteins would be an option for consumers who are more favourable towards meat reduction.
Display omitted
•Omnivores were sorted in groups according to their attitude about meat reduction.•Three groups were formed: ANTI-, INTERMediate-, and PRO- meat reduction.•PRO consumers expected to like 100% beef, 100% vegetable and 50%/50% burgers equally.•ANTI consumers expected to like 100% beef >50% beef/veg >100% vegetable burgers.•Perceptions of burgers with vegetable proteins differ depending on consumer attitudes.•100% veg protein burgers were the preferred option for the PRO meat reduction group.
•Compare internal preference mapping through hedonic scaling and preference ranking.•Preference ranking linked to open comments proved as very good alternative.•The alternative approach gave similar ...preference maps than traditional ones.•Elicit drivers of liking and disliking directly from consumers with their own words.
In classic consumer science, liking has generally been measured with the 9-point hedonic scale. In recent years, signal detection procedures where consumers rank products in terms of preference have been used, together with an R-index that measures the distance in preference. Ranking has been found to be friendlier for consumers, being a more “natural” exercise than scaling. However, scaling has the advantage of quantifying liking, resulting in data sets that can be treated further, for example through preference mapping, together with sensory data from a trained panel or from consumers. Preference mapping is very useful for product development and as a communication tool.
This study compared two preference mapping approaches, one using a data set from hedonic scaling plus intensity questions and the other using preference ranking data coupled with open comments.
Preference ranking tests plus open comments by consumers proved a very promising method as it produced very similar internal preference map results to “traditional” preference mapping from liking scales. This quicker and easier method in terms of practical implementation has the added advantage of eliciting drivers of liking and disliking directly from consumers, as these cannot be obtained through attribute intensity assessment or by using a trained panel.
•Sensory product spaces derived by CATA elicitation are subject to multiple minor biases.•Within-subject randomization of CATA terms does not increase task difficulty.•Citation frequency of CATA ...terms depend on CATA question length and structure.•‘Dynamics of sensory perception’ is confirmed as an explanation for order bias.
Research into sensory product characterizations by consumers using CATA (check-all-that-apply) methodology is entering the stage where better understanding is required of ways that CATA question implementation influences sensory profiles and product discrimination. With this aim, five studies were conducted. Focusing on strategies that have been suggested as ways to reduce primacy and order bias in CATA data, this research explored the effect of these initiatives on the elicited sensory product profiles and conclusions drawn with regards to sample differences. The use of within-subjects randomization of CATA terms did not significantly affect frequency of use of CATA terms but significantly affected conclusions regarding differences among samples, compared to the evaluation of multiple samples with CATA ballots where terms are presented in the same order. The use of multiple shorter CATA questions defined by sensory modality also yielded results that significantly differed from when single longer CATA questions with terms from multiple sensory modalities were used. CATA question length and the use of single/mixed sensory modalities both appeared to be contributing factors to these differences. ‘Dynamics of sensory perception’, which refers to effects on CATA results arising when CATA terms are assessed in the sensory evaluation process (during/after sample consumption) was confirmed as a source of bias. A key learning from this research was that sensory product characterization and differences among samples are subject to multiple minor biases related to how the question is formulated and that the exact experimental conditions under which CATA data are generated should be reported.
Nowadays it is common to find dietary supplements on the market with the same health promoting compounds as certain functional food products. However, there is a lack of research comparing these two ...categories of carriers (food and supplements) for the same functional ingredient. This work focuses on konjac glucomannan (KGM) due to its recognized body weight reduction-related effect: when it swells in the stomach in the presence of sufficient water, it produces a sensation of fullness. In this context, the objectives of the present work were to gain knowledge about consumer perception of KGM and its different carriers or forms of presentation (in a food item or in capsules). In addition, the relative importance of the carrier, front-of-package images and weight loss-related information were studied by different sensory techniques, such as word association, projective mapping and conjoint analysis. The results showed that consumers formed negative perceptions when the information was not sufficiently complete and that they considered a food product containing KGM better than KGM capsules. Regarding the front of the package, health benefit-related images were more attractive than verbal information.
•Negative perceptions of an unknown weight reduction-related compound were found.•When information was given to consumers a positive shift was detected.•Food items were considered better carriers for the compound than pill supplements.•Organic shapes and explicit images evoked direct associations with slimming concept.•“Appetite control” obtained higher trustworthy ratings than “Helps to lose weight”.
When food is ingested, it remains in the mouth for a short period of time. Although this period is brief compared to the total food nutrient digestion and absorption time, it is crucially important ...as it is the first step in digestion. It is also very important that, while the food is in the mouth, it is perceived by the senses and then a decision is made on swallowing. Oral sensory perception is an integrative response, which is generated in very short time (normally a few seconds) from complex information gathered from multiple sources during mastication and swallowing. Consequently, food oral processing studies include many orientations. This Special Issue brings together a small range of studies with a diversity of approaches that provide good examples of the complexity and multidisciplinarity of the subject.
•The influence of evoked contexts relative to control condition was evaluated in central location tests.•Product and study specific factors contributed to the influence of evoked context on hedonic ...scores.•Sensory responses to CATA questions were highly similar under evoked and control condition.
This research contributes new understanding of the role of consumption context. 12 studies involving 1727 consumers were conducted as central location tests (CLT). Using between-subjects experimental designs, the influence of evoked contexts relative to control condition for hedonic responses and sensory product characterization using check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions was evaluated. Contexts were evoked by asking consumers to think of the last time they ate/drank the focal product category or by imagining a specific consumption situation where product consumption would take place (e.g., breakfast on a weekend morning). In half of the studies, consumers were asked to provide a description of the consumption context they imagined. There was no consistent trend in the results regarding the influence of evoked context of hedonic responses. Effects were seen in a minority of studies, but not consistently showing differences in mean scores or changes in sample discrimination. The type of context that was evoked (last time ate/drank vs. specific situation) did not systematically influence the results, although the use of a description phase during context evocation was detrimental to hedonic sample discrimination. In all the studies where participants were asked to describe the context they imagined, hedonic discrimination was inferior to that achieved under no evoked context. Sensory responses to CATA questions were highly similar under evoked and no evoked context and suggested that product characterisations generated by consumers in a typical CLT provide a good proxy for sensory product experience in contextualised consumption situations.
The effect of replacing part of the wheat flour with a resistant starch rich ingredient (RSRI) − a source of functional fibre with potential health benefits − was studied in short dough biscuits. A ...control with no replacement and 3 formulations in which 20, 40 and 60g of flour per 100 g were replaced by an RSRI (samples 20RSRI, 40RSRI and 60RSRI) were prepared. From a technological point of view, the RSRI level influenced the consistency of the raw dough and the ease of sheeting and cutting. Regarding the eating quality of the final product, addition of the RSRI increased the breaking strength and crumbliness and reduced the resistance to penetration. In the RSRI biscuits, both the surface and the crumb were paler. The sensory acceptance of the 20RSRI biscuits did not differ significantly from that of the control. 40RSRI reduced the acceptability of the colour, appearance and texture without altering the taste, sweetness and overall acceptance. Neither of these two levels significantly reduced the consumption intention. However, 60% flour replacement produced biscuits with lower sensory acceptability and a significant reduction in consumption intention. In general, the results could be interpreted in terms of the protein-diluting effect of the added ingredient and changes in the water content and water-retention capacity of flour mixtures containing RSRI. The present results proved that resistant starch rich ingredients (RSRI) have good potential for developing fibre-rich biscuits without changing their general features.
PDF
