Sensory tools for the development of gluten-free bakery foods

The appearance, taste, aroma and texture of food products, including gluten-free bakery products, is very important predictors for whether or not such products would be acceptable for consumers. Food companies that manufacture and supply gluten-free food and beverage products need to utilise a variety of sensory tools for decision making during product development, evaluation of ingredients, processes and products. The six steps to Sensory Evaluation process is a simple to use, stepwise approach to select the right tools to answer questions. Different sensory evaluation tools are used to address questions of the three different types (1) Are two or more products the same or different? (2) What is the nature and size of differences among products? and (3) What are consumers' opinions about a product/s? It is the intention that the discussion in this review would stimulate ideas for application of more advanced sensory tools to further understanding to enhance development of gluten-free foods and ingredients. Some suggestions for future sensory studies on gluten-free bakery products are presented. These include: more research on the acceptance and perception of the sensory properties of gluten-free product options by both coeliac and non-coeliac consumers at different life stages; and evaluation of the sensory properties of gluten-free products in combination with other products, accompaniments and within meals. Also, sensory profiling of the unique properties of naturally gluten-free bakery products, as well as studies to optimize acceptance of these in wider consumer markets. The application of the tools in a systematic manner based on the six steps to sensory testing process presented here will assist researchers to obtain powerful results to answer research questions.The National Research Foundation of South Africa.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jcs2021-07-01hj2020Consumer ScienceFood Scienc

Food choice drivers at varying income levels in an emerging economy

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: Data will be made available on request.The purpose of this work was to explore and compare food choice drivers of low (LI), middle (MI) and high (HI) income urban people in an emerging economy (South Africa). Here, 13 focus group (FG) discussions [six LI, n = 36, 67% women; four MI, n = 22, 100% women and three HI, n = 17, 76% women; total n = 75) were transcribed, coded inductively and deductively and 17 food choice categories emerged. Eight of these, i.e., aspects related to: plant vs animal protein, food waste, food preparation, availability of resources, food exploration, social aspects and food spoilage, are not typically (e.g., sensory appeal, mood, health, convenience etc.) measured with established food choice questionnaires. Economic factors and Availability of food and resources were mentioned the most by LI participants compared to MI and HI. Whereas, Health; Familiarity and Food exploration were mostly mentioned by MI and HI participants. This study yielded a mixture of individual and environment based motives which add to our understanding of the “why” aspects underlying food choice in an urban and emerging economy. The fact that these aspects are compared by income group provides interesting information on the similarities and differences of how the food choice process unfolds across varying income groups. The insights from this study are useful for the development of an updated, quantitative food choice questionnaire for application in this and other emerging economies.The National Research Foundation of South Africa and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.http://www.journals.elsevier.com/appetiteConsumer ScienceFood Scienc

Sensory quality control : assessment of food company employees' knowledge, attitudes, and practices

This study was carried out to validate a questionnaire for assessing sensory quality control (SQC) knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). The questionnaire, containing 24 knowledge, 13 attitudes, and nine practices items, was submitted to company representatives in South Africa and Nigeria. Confirmatory factor analysis and group comparisons among respondents and companies were carried out to validate the questionnaire. The final SQC-KAP questionnaire consists of 24 knowledge (one scale), 11 attitudes (A bifactor scale, with a general scale and two subscales representing individual attitudes to SQC and those towards company SQC) and nine practices (one scale) items. The knowledge items had acceptable indices for difficulty and discrimination, and the attitudes and practices items had acceptable item-total correlations. The final questionnaire can be used for the rapid assessment of SQC related knowledge and attitudes of food company employees and assessment of company practices. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: This study is the first to validate a questionnaire for assessing SQC related knowledge, attitudes, and practices in the food industry. The SQC-KAP questionnaire can be used to rapidly assess SQC knowledge and attitudes of food company employees for sensory services, and to identify SQC training needs. Stakeholders can also use it to assess the sensory quality practices of food companies to gauge their compliance to good practice and identify potential areas of improvement of their SQC programs.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: APPENDIX S1. Characteristics of respondents and their companies n = 345. APPENDIX S2. Sensory quality control knowledge, attitudes, and practices questionnaire.University of Pretoria Commonwealth Doctoral Scholarship.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1745459xConsumer ScienceFood Scienc

Nutrient density and oral processing properties of common commercial complementary porridge samples used in southern Africa : effect on energy and protein intakes among children aged 6–24 months

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.Child malnutrition is an endemic public health problem in Africa. Infants are supposed to receive complementary foods from about 6 months onwards, as breastmilk alone no longer provide adequate nutrients. Commercially available complementary foods (CACFs) form an important part of baby foods in developing countries. However, systematic evidence on whether they really meet optimal quality specifications for infant feeding is limited. Some CACFs commonly used in Southern Africa and other parts of the world were investigated to establish if they meet optimal quality standards for protein and energy content, viscosity, and oral texture. For the energy content, most CACFs for 6–24-month-old children both in the dry and ready-to-eat forms (range: 372.0–1816.0 kJ/100 g), were below Codex Alimentarius guidelines. The protein density of all CACFs (0.48–1.3 g/100 kJ) conformed with Codex Alimentarius requirements, but some (33%) were below the minimum World Health Organization (World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe (2019a). Commercial foods for infants and young children in the WHO European region) target of 0.7 g/100 kJ. Most CACFs had high viscosity values even at high shear rate of 50 s−1, and were too thick or thick, sticky, grainy, and slimy, which may limit nutrient intake in infants, potentially causing child malnutrition. There is a need to improve the oral viscosity and sensory texture of CACFs for better nutrient intake by infants.Department of Science and Technology DST/NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security, South Africa; DST-CSIR Inter-bursary Support (IBS) Programme, South Africa; National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jtxshj2024Consumer ScienceFood ScienceSDG-02:Zero Hunge

Relating physico-chemical properties of frozen green peas (Pisum sativum L.) to sensory quality

BACKGROUND : The acceptability of frozen green peas depends on their sensory quality. There is a need to relate physico-chemical parameters to sensory quality. In this research, six brands of frozen green peas representing product sold for retail and caterer’s markets were purchased and subjected to descriptive sensory evaluation and physico-chemical analyses (including dry matter content, alcohol insoluble solids content, starch content, °Brix, residual peroxidase activity, size sorting, hardness using texture analysis and colour measurements) to assess and explain product quality. RESULTS : The sensory quality of frozen green peas, particularly texture properties, were well explained using physico-chemical methods of analysis notably alcohol insoluble solids, starch content, hardness and °Brix. Generally, retail class peas were of superior sensory quality to caterer’s class peas although one caterer’s brand was comparable to the retail brands. Retail class peas were sweeter, smaller, greener, more moist and more tender than the caterer’s peas. Retail class peas also had higher °Brix, a*, hue and chroma values; lower starch, alcohol insoluble solids, dry matter content and hardness measured. CONCLUSIONS : The sensory quality of frozen green peas can be partially predicted by measuring physico-chemical parameters particularly °Brix and to a lesser extent hardness by texture analyser, alcohol insoluble solids, dry matter and starch content.NRF Technology and Human Resources for Industry (THRIP) Programme TP2010071400011http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-0010hb201

Quality characterization of wheat, maize and sorghum steamed breads from Lesotho

BACKGROUND : In Lesotho, traditional bread covers different types of dumplings prepared with cereal flour, water, salt and sourdough. This study characterized eight steamed breads prepared from wheat, maize and sorghum. Breads were prepared from both commercial and self-milled flours according to the procedures followed in rural and urban areas of Lesotho. Descriptive sensory evaluation was conducted to profile sensory properties of the breads. Flour particle sizes, sourdough properties and bread colour, volume and texture were also characterized. RESULTS : The type of cereal and milling properties of the flour used had substantial effects on the physical and sensory properties of the bread. Steamed wheat breads had greater volume, softer crumb and more bland flavour compared with sorghum and maize breads. Both sorghum and maize steamed breads prepared according to traditional Basotho procedures were characterized by low loaf volume, denser crumb, more complex and strong flavours and aroma, notably sour, musty, malty, dairy sour and fermented aroma. The texture of the non-wheat bread types was heavy, chewy, dry, fibrous and more brittle and needed a higher compression force to deform. CONCLUSION : This study provided insight on the sensory properties of steamed bread as prepared in Lesotho. Further research is needed to optimize sensory properties of the non-wheat steamed breads by controlling the flour particle size, compositing non-wheat flours with different levels of wheat flour, addition of protein sources and gums, altering the amount of water, improving the pre-gelatinization process and optimizing the steamingmethod of cooking bread.National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF).http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-0010hb201

Effect of soy flour addition and heat-processing method on nutritional quality and consumer acceptability of cassava complementary porridges

BACKGROUND: The nutritional quality of cassava complementary porridge was improved through extrusion cooking and compositing with either defatted of full fat soy flour (65 :35 w/w), and product acceptability by mothers with children of the target population was evaluated. RESULTS: The protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) of extrusion- and conventionally cooked composite porridges was within the recommendations for complementary foods. The kinetics of starch digestibility showed that all porridges had a rapid rate of starch digestibility, but the rate was lower when defatted soy flour was added and lowest when full fat soy flour was added. The formation of amylase-lipid complexes as shown by X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry can be attributed to the lower digestibility of extrusion-cooked porridge with full fat soy flour. If fed thrice per day, extrusion-cooked porridge with defatted or full fat soy flour would meet the energy, protein and available lysine requirements of a child aged 6-8 months receiving low or average nutrients from breast milk. All porridges were well received by Mozambican mothers who use cassava as a staple food. The mean scores for sensory liking of all porridges were 3 and above on a five-point hedonic scale. CONCLUSION: Extrusion-cooked cassava/Soy flour porridges have good potential for use as high-energy/high –protein complementary foods and have acceptable sensory properties.The International Institute of Tropical Agriculturehttp://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-0010

Extrusion cooking of cassava-soy flour with 200 g/kg wheat bran promotes slower oral processing during consumption of the instant porridge and higher derived satiety

In this study, the descriptive sensory attributes, oral processing characteristics of and subjective satiety responses for extrusion cooked cassava-soy porridge with wheat bran at 0, 100 and 200 g/kg addition levels were determined. Fifteen subjects (23–47 years, mean BMI 22.6 kg/m2) consumed 250 g of each porridge type over 8 breakfast meals while being video recorded. Oral exposure time and number of bites, and eating and bite rates were determined. Subjects rated hunger, fullness and desire to eat before meal, post meal and periodically over 3 h post consumption. A separate panel profiled the descriptive sensory attributes of the porridges. The addition of wheat bran increased visually perceived viscosity and presence of visible particles. The porridge with 200 g/kg wheat bran was eaten with more bites and at a slower rate thus, having longer oro-sensory exposure. Also, the porridge with 200 g/kg wheat bran led to greater reduction in subjective reported hunger compared to the other porridges. Wheat bran as a source of dietary fibre has the potential to be incorporated as a component of extruded starch-rich foods to produce instant products which can promote satiety.South African Department of Science and Technology (DST)/National Research Foundation (NRF) - Centre of Excellence in Food Security under project number 140207.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/lwt2019-11-01hj2018Consumer ScienceFood Scienc

Survival analysis, consumer perception and physico-chemical analysis of low fat UHT milk stored for different time periods

Survival analysis based on consumers' acceptance or rejection of milk of different storage ages, was used to validate the shelf-life of low fat ultra-high temperature treated (UHT) milk in high density polyethylene bottles, as previously determined by a multivariate accelerated shelf-life test (MASLT). UHT milk between 120 and 290 d of storage were evaluated. Based on 50% of consumers rejecting the product, the shelf-life was estimated to be 214 d, validating the shelf-life of 211 d estimated by the MASLT. In addition, consumers completed check-all-that-apply attribute questions and rated the acceptability of the milk. The consumers noted positive sensory attributes more frequently in fresher milk samples with an increase in negative attributes with storage. Along with this, hedonic scores for the milk decreased and physicochemical and enzymatic reactions associated with the deterioration of UHT milk increased with storage.South African National Research Foundation (NRF) Technology and Human Resource Programme (THRIP) (Grant TP 2010071400012).http://www.elsevier.com/locate/idairyj2017-06-30hb2016Food Scienc

Multivariate accelerated shelf-life test of low fat UHT milk

A multivariate accelerated shelf life test (MASLT) that employs all sensory attributes that show change over time was applied to data obtained from a trained panel (n ¼ 11) that evaluated 18 sensory attributes of low fat UHT milk samples stored at 25, 35 and 45 C over a six and a half month time period. The cutoff point that identifies the end of shelf life was obtained by survival analysis based on consumers’ acceptance or rejection of samples stored for different times and at different temperatures. Storage at 35 and 45 C reduced the shelf life by a factor of 2.9 and 7.8, respectively. In future, changes in sensory attributes that correlate well with the UHT milk MASLT model can be used as predictors for end of shelf life. For this purpose the milk can be stored at accelerated temperatures and results can be converted to actual market condition.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/idairyjhb201