Sugar, salt, and fat content in processed products are important concerns for consumers. Hence, alternative “healthy” versions of conventional foods such as chocolate, potato chips, and yogurt are ...offered. This work aimed to define the emotional response of consumers from different cultural backgrounds (Spain vs. Brazil) evoked by healthier versions of conventional products and the relationship between hedonic responses and health consciousness. A total of 186 Brazilian and 152 Spanish consumers participated in this online cross‐cultural study. Participants answered a Health Consciousness Questionnaire and an emotional check‐all‐that‐applies questionnaire using picture stimuli of conventional chocolate, potato chips, and yogurt and their healthier versions with less sugar, salt, and fat content, respectively. The Brazilians' emotional responses were more diverse for all stimuli compared to the Spaniards'. However, participants from both cultures rated an average of “slightly agree” on the health consciousness scale; a higher level of consumption, liking, and willingness to buy; and a higher frequency of positive emotional terms for the stimuli of conventional products compared to their healthier versions. A higher frequency of evocation of “active” is strongly associated with higher levels of health consciousness. Strategic actions by the food industry and government must consider cultural, emotional, and health‐conscious factors to encourage the consumption of healthier foods.
Practical Application
Food manufacturers can use the information obtained from this study to create healthier versions of their products that appeal to consumers' emotional responses and health consciousness levels. The findings can assist in designing strategic actions to promote healthier food consumption by emphasizing the benefits of healthier food choices and making them more appealing to consumers. The methodology employed in this study can also be applied to further studies aimed to assess emotional responses to food stimuli across different cultures.
Coffee husks (
L.) are characterized by exhibiting secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds, which can be used as raw material for obtaining bioactive compounds of interest in food. The ...objective of this study is to evaluate different methods for obtaining the raw material and extracting solutions of bioactive compounds from coffee husks. Water bath and ultrasound-assisted extraction methods were used, using water (100%) or ethanol (100%) or a mixture of both (1:1) as extracting solutions and the form of the raw material was in natura and dehydrated. The extracts were evaluated by their antioxidant potential using DPPH radicals, ABTS, and iron reduction (ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP)), and later total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, and condensed tannins were quantified the phenolic majority compounds were identified. It was verified that the mixture of water and ethanol (1:1) showed better extraction capacity of the compounds with antioxidant activity and that both conventional (water bath) or unconventional (ultrasound) methods showed satisfactory results. Finally, a satisfactory amount of bioactive compounds was observed in evaluating the chemical composition (total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids, condensed tannins, as well as the analysis of the phenolic profile) of these extracts. Corroborating with the results of the antioxidant activities, the best extracting solution was generally the water and ethanol mixture (1:1) using a dehydrated husk and water bath as the best method, presenting higher levels of the bioactive compounds in question, with an emphasis on chlorogenic acid. Thus, it can be concluded that the use of coffee husk as raw material to obtain extracts of bioactive compounds is promising. Last, the conventional method (water bath) and the water and ethanol mixture (1:1) stood out among the methods and extracting solutions used for the dehydrated coffee husk.
White Striping (WS) and Wooden Breast (WB) are emerging poultry myopathies that occur worldwide, affecting the quality of meat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of N, WS, WB, and ...WS/WB (myopathies combined) in chicken breast from Brazilian commercial plant, comparing (1) inspection based on visual aspect and palpation of Pectoralis major muscle, and (2) identification of these myopathies by near‐infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS). Chickens slaughtered at Brazilian commercial plant at four age ranges (4 to 5, 6 to 7, 8 to 9, and 65 weeks) were inspected. Spectral information was acquired using a portable NIR spectrometer, and classification models were performed using and Successive Projection Algorithm‐Linear Discriminant Analysis (SPA‐LDA) and Soft Independent Modeling of Class Analogy (SIMCA) to distinguish normal and affected muscles. Results showed that occurrence of myopathies was aggravated by age of slaughter, as chicken slaughtered at 4 to 5 and 65 weeks exhibited 13.6 and 95% of myopathies, respectively. Birds slaughtered at 65 weeks showed no occurrence of WB, isolated or combined with WS. It was not possible to differentiate the WB and WS/WB classes; therefore, those samples were grouped (WB+WS/WB). SPA‐LDA model showed greater accuracy (92 to 93%) in identifying Normal (N), WS, and WB+WS/WB groups, compared to SIMCA (89 to 91%). It can be concluded that the level of occurrence of myopathies in meat is directly related to the age of slaughter. This study demonstrated that NIRS combined with SPA‐LDA model could be used as a tool to detect myopathies in chicken breast. This technique has potential for application in industrial processing lines as an alternative to the traditional methods of identification.
Practical Application
This study shows that NIRS combined with chemometric techniques can be used to identify chicken breast myopathies in a wide range of ages at slaughter. In addition to being able to discriminate chicken muscles into subclasses, namely, Normal, WS, and WB/WB+WS, this technique has potential for application in industrial processing lines as it is a portable and nondestructive method. This procedure is emphasized as an alternative to the conventional method of identification based on palpation and visual assessment of muscle.
In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of coatings comprising shrimp chitosan (CHI) and Mentha piperita L. (MPEO) or Mentha×villosa Huds (MVEO) essential oils to control mold infections caused by ...Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum and Rhizopus stolonifer in cherry tomato fruits (Solanum lycopersicum L.) during storage at room temperature (25°C for 12days) and low temperature (12°C for 24days). The effects of the coatings on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of cherry tomato fruits during storage were also assessed. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CHI against all test fungi was 8mg/mL, whereas the MIC for both MPEO and MVEO was 5μL/mL. Combinations of CHI at 4mg/mL and MPEO or MVEO at 2.5 or 1.25μL/mL strongly inhibited the mycelial growth and spore germination of target fungi. The coatings comprising CHI and MPEO or CHI and MVEO at the different tested concentrations delayed the growth of decay-causing fungi in artificially contaminated tomato fruit during storage at either room temperature or low temperature. The assayed coatings preserved the quality of cherry tomato fruit during storage, in terms of physicochemical and sensory attributes. These results indicate that coatings comprising CHI and MPEO or CHI and MVEO represent promising postharvest treatments to prevent common postharvest mold infections in cherry tomato fruit during storage without affecting the quality of the fruit.
•The antifungal effects of chitosan and Mentha spp. essential oils are shown.•Chitosan and Mentha spp. essential oils reduced mycelial growth and spore germination.•Coatings comprising chitosan and Mentha spp. essential oils inhibited fruit molds.•The tested coatings preserved tomato quality parameters.
This study aimed to investigate the level of lipid and protein oxidation in poultry breasts with severe white striping (WS; striation thickness > 1 mm) and nonaffected meats (N; normal breast) during ...storage under refrigeration (1°C for 14 d) and freezing (–18°C for 90 d). WS presented higher lipid content, although no difference in protein content was detected, compared to normal broiler breast (N). Regarding oxidative damages, a reduction in malondialdehyde and carbonyl protein, hexanal, octanal and nonanal levels, alongside the interaction of these compounds with other compounds in raw, roasted, and reheated breasts was observed under refrigerated storage (14 d). Freezing storage promotes an increase in carbonyls proteins, hexanal, octanal and nonanal levels at 45 d of storage in poultry meats and subsequent decrease, indicating the evolution of oxidative reactions. Regardless of the type of storage, in general, breasts with WS myopathy have higher levels of lipid and protein oxidation.
Summary
The incidence of the Wooden Breast myopathy (WB) in the meat industry is increasingly high and causes economic losses. This work seeks to study the impact of this myopathy on consumer ...perception. The aim of this study was to evaluate consumers' degree of knowledge, acceptability and purchase intention of chicken breasts affected by the WB. In face‐to‐face scenario, 197 participants evaluated samples of Normal (N), Moderate (WBM) and Severe WB (WBS) breasts fillet, whereas in the online scenario 200 participants analysed the photographic images of the samples. Participants' perceptions did not show differences among informed conditions, conversely to the scenario. N samples show higher scores in both tests in the face‐to‐face scenario, but this was not the case for the samples evaluated in the online scenario, where WBM samples were better accepted and did not present differences compared with N breast samples regarding purchase intention. This work shed light on the importance of the scenario for consumer perception and the necessity of reformulated objectives and experimental designs in the current pandemic context.
Consumers preferences and decisions were greatly affected by the assessment scenario. The online scenarion had certain limitations vs. the face‐to‐face scenario. Consumers reject chicken breasts affected by severe myopathy regardless of scenario.
The effects of coatings containing shrimp chitosan and the essential oil from Mentha piperita L. (MPEO) or M. villosa Huds (MVEO) to control common mold infections in table grape cv. Isabella (Vitis ...labrusca L.) that were caused by Aspergillus niger, Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum and Rhizopus stolonifer were evaluated. The effects of the coatings on physicochemical and sensory characteristics of the grapes were also assessed. The coatings containing chitosan (4, 8mg/mL) and MPEO or MVEO (1.25, 2.5, 5μL/mL) delayed the mold growth and reduced the incidence of infections caused by all test fungi in grapes during storage at room and low temperatures. The coatings (chitosan 4mg/mL; MPEO or MVEO 1.25, 2.5μL/mL) did not negatively affect the physicochemical and sensory characteristics of grapes. From these results, coatings containing chitosan and MPEO or MVEO are potential postharvest treatments to control common mold infections in table grape cv. Isabella.
In table grapes, the reduction of losses resulting from fungal rot is a major goal of postharvest technology, which seeks to use effective methods to control the contamination and the growth of phytopathogenic fungi. However, the negative consumer perception of synthetic fungicides used for many years to solve the problem of mold infections in table grapes and the development of fungicide-resistant strains have impelled researchers to study the efficacy of natural compounds against postharvest pathogenic fungi. In this context, edible coatings composed of chitosan and essential oils have been considered as an environmentally friendly and added-value technology to control fungal postharvest decay in table grapes because of their biodegradability and lack of phytotoxicity. In this study, the authors evaluated composite coatings that contained shrimp chitosan and reduced amounts of Mentha (piperita L. or x vilosa Huds) essential oil as postharvest treatment to control the occurrence of mold infections caused by fungi in table grape cv. Isabella (Vitis labrusca L.), and their effects on the quality attributes of this fruit during storage. The tested composite coatings are presented as possible alternative technologies to control fungal infections and related post-harvest losses in table grape cv. Isabella.
•Coatings comprising chitosan and Mentha spp. essential oil inhibited mold occurrence.•Test coatings delayed the appearance of postharvest mold infection in table grapes.•Test coatings did not negatively affect the quality of table grapes.
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