Predicting success for new flavors with information known pre-launch: a flavored snack food case study

Success in the marketplace is the goal of every product launch. Knowing what data to collect before launching a product that could predict success would be valuable to companies. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine whether success of new line extensions for a multi-flavored snack product available internationally could be predicted from information available before launch. Staff from 15 countries completed a questionnaire for each product and included questions related to authenticity, familiarity, and capturing current trends, packaging and market place issues such as product competition and pricing. Using 63 flavors, a discriminant function correctly identified 75.8% successful products as successful and 66.7% unsuccessful products as unsuccessful. Stepwise comparison determined the variables necessary to correctly categorize the snack products: being a trendy flavor, new to the category, based off foods from restaurants or traditional foods. These variables assisted in predicting in market success for this product category

Histological characteristics of beef top round steaks cooked by dry or moist heat in a conventional or microwave oven

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1979 C517Master of Scienc

Food Safety: Recommendations for Determining Doneness in Consumer Egg Dish Recipes and Measurement of Endpoint Temperatures When Recipes Are Followed

Citation: Godwin, S., Maughan, C., & Chambers, E. (2016). Food Safety: Recommendations for Determining Doneness in Consumer Egg Dish Recipes and Measurement of Endpoint Temperatures When Recipes Are Followed. Foods, 5(3), 10. doi:10.3390/foods5030045Many consumers do not follow recommended food safety practices for cooking egg dishes, such as pies, quiches, and casseroles, potentially leading to foodborne illnesses such as Salmonellosis. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends cooking egg mixtures until the center reaches 71 degrees C (160 degrees F). The objectives of this study were to determine what endpoint temperature information consumers receive from egg dish recipes, and if recipes would lead to safe temperatures when followed. Egg dish recipes (n = 226) from 65 websites, 50 cookbooks, and nine magazine titles (multiple issues of each) were analyzed. Time was the most frequently used indicator, given in 92% of the recipes, with 15% using only time. Other indicators included: set (89), browned (76), clean toothpick/knife (60), puffed (27), and jiggled (13). Only two recipes indicated final endpoint temperatures. Three recipes (a pie, a quiche, and an egg casserole) were chosen and prepared in triplicate to see if they would reach recommended temperatures. The pie and quiche were still liquid at 71 degrees C, and were well over the recommended temperature when cooked according to instructions, but the egg casserole was not consistently above 71 degrees C, when the recipe instructions indicated it was done and the center was light brown and "jiggled" This research indicates that consumers are not receiving information on endpoint temperatures in egg recipes, but the likelihood of foodborne illness is low since most dishes probably be cooked past the recommended temperature before the consumer considers them done unless there are many inclusions that may absorb liquid and reduce the appearance of liquid in the dish

Comparison of results from cupping and descriptive sensory analysis of Colombian brewed coffee

Sensory profiles of thirteen coffee samples from the Huila Region, Colombia, were evaluated using two different sensory panels, a highly trained descriptive sensory panel and a group of certified coffee cuppers. The trained panel consisted of six descriptive panelists who developed a lexicon to evaluate and then test the coffee samples. Four ‘cuppers’ scored samples based on the Speciality Coffee Association of America “Cupping Protocol”. In addition cuppers generated tasting notes to characterize the different coffee samples. Data analysis indicated little overlap between the two methods and a low relationship between the two different sets of terms. Moreover, tasting notes by cuppers indicate lack of agreements on the terms used to describe samples with only four terms used by more than two assessors to describe a single coffee product, out of a total of 59 terms used by the cuppers. The results indicate that the cupping method provides different information that cannot be used as an alternative to descriptive sensory analysis with trained panelists when describing the sensory profile of coffee products. Results also indicate that further training of cuppers is needed in order to potentially provide higher agreement in generating tasting notes to better characterize coffee samples

Consumer acceptance of dry dog food variations

The objectives of this study were to compare the acceptance of different dry dog food products by consumers, determine consumer clusters for acceptance, and identify the characteristics of dog food that drive consumer acceptance. Eight dry dog food samples available in the US market were evaluated by pet owners. In this study, consumers evaluated overall liking, aroma, and appearance liking of the products. Consumers were also asked to predict their purchase intent, their dog’s liking, and cost of the samples. The results indicated that appearance of the sample, especially the color, influenced pet owner’s overall liking more than the aroma of the product. Overall liking clusters were not related to income, age, gender, or education, indicating that general consumer demographics do not appear to play a main role in individual consumer acceptance of dog food products

Sensory traits, color, and shelf life of low-dose irradiated, raw, ground beef patties

Irradiation of raw ground beef patties had minimal effects on flavor and aroma of patties after cooking. Oxidative rancidity increased when patties were irradiated in aerobic but not in vacuum packages. Irradiation of vacuum-packaged ground beef patties produced a more stable color. In both packaging types, irradiation significantly reduced microbial growth during storage

Food Leftover Practices among Consumers in Selected Countries in Europe, South and North America

Citation: Koppel, K., Higa, F., Godwin, S., Gutierrez, N., Shalimov, R., Cardinal, P., . . . Chambers, E. (2016). Food Leftover Practices among Consumers in Selected Countries in Europe, South and North America. Foods, 5(3), 14. doi:10.3390/foods5030066Foodborne illnesses may be related to many food production factors with home practices of consumers playing an important role in food safety. Consumer behavior for handling food leftovers has been studied, however little work on comparisons among countries has been published. The objective of this study was to investigate home food leftover practices of people from North American, South American, and European countries. Surveys were conducted with approximately 100 or more consumers in Argentina, Colombia, the United States, Estonia, Italy, Russia, and Spain. The participants responded to questions related to the length of time different types of food leftovers; such as meat, fresh salads, or restaurant dishes would be kept refrigerated or would be left at room temperature before refrigeration. Researchers also investigated how consumers would determine if the food was still safe for consumption. Potentially risky behaviors were observed in all seven countries. For instance, 55.8% of Estonians, 25% of Russians and 25.8% of Argentinean participants left food out at room temperature for several hours before storing in the refrigerator. Furthermore, 25%-29% of Colombian, Estonian, and Spanish consumers would look, smell, and taste leftovers to determine its probable safety. Correct handling of leftovers is an important aspect of consumer food safety. Although the surveys cannot be representative of all consumers in each country, they do provide an initial overview of comparative practices for handling leftovers among different countries. This provides government and educators with information on potential universal and unique consumer food safety issues related to handling leftover foods among various countries

Sensory traits, color, and shelf life of low-dose irradiated, precooked, ground beef patties

Irradiation did not influence bitter, bloody, burnt, chemical, fat-like, juiciness, liver-like, beef identity, metallic, rancid, sour, sweet, and toughness flavor/textural attributes, beef aroma, or off-odor in precooked ground beef patties. Irradiation slightly increased the animal hair flavor note, but intensity levels were <1 on the 15-point sensory scale. Except for 10% fat non-irradiated controls, reheated precooked patties had a slight sour, ammonia-like, top note. Irradiation at 3.5 kilograys (kGy) increased external redness in vacuum-packaged patties, but not in aerobic packages. Aerobic packaging with or without irradiation decreased external precooked redness. Oxidative rancidity increased when patties were irradiated in aerobic but not in vacuum packages. Reduction of oxygen in vacuum bags extended the shelf life of the precooked ground beef patties, at least in terms of oxidative rancidity. Precooking ground beef patties, irrespective of irradiation or packaging type, posed sensory disadvantages, and improvements to the precooking process are needed before irradiating at low-dose levels is appropriate