Penalty analysis is an efficient tool for food product development: Case study with lemonades

Although penalty analysis has been used for product development for many years, its application is less widespread. Penalty analysis provides a quick and easy way to identify those sensory attributes that significantly influence consumers' preferences. The information provided helps food product developers to focus on key sensory attributes and with their improvement the overall product preference increases. The present paper focuses on the introduction of penalty analysis to the readers through an example of lemonades. Three prototypes of lemonades were tested with 65 consumers to identify the optimal level of sugar and lemon juice content that meets the need of the majority of the consumer group. Results suggest that with only three prototypes, the proper composition is easy to define

Food science applications and international trends of artificial neural networks

Recently, research has been focusing increasingly on the system of artificial neural networks, and its results are used in many places by industrial practices. The success of these networks lies in their ability to recognize the complex relationships and patterns in data, as well as to predict unknown samples, thus enabling value and category predictions with high certainty. Artificial neural networks are very efficient tools for modeling non-linear trends within data. In many cases, they perform well where traditional statistical tools provide unsatisfactory results or unable to solve a given research problem. In our work, the operation principle and structure (topol-ogy) of artificial neural networks are summarized, as well as the classification and application possibilities of the networks. The latest food science applications are presented separately, based on the usage type (prediction, classification, optimiza-tion). Results show that artificial neural networks possess many beneficial properties, making them especially suitable for solving food science tasks

Comparative analysis of Hungarian commercial apple juices

In recent years, 100% fruit juices have become increasingly popular among consumers. Beverages made from apples include a wide range of products, interest being particularly grate in direct press juices and products of organic farming that are produced “chemical-free”. Our objective is to compare 100% apple juices produced using different technologies, which are commercially available in Hungary, by the complex analysis of some of their quality parameters. For the tests, 12 varieties of 100% apple juices were used. The patulin contamination of the products was checked with the help of the Food and Feed Safety Directorate of the National Food Chain Safety Office by means of an HPLC-UV measurement following a special clean-up. The hydroxymethylfurfural content of the products were determined by spectrophotometry, antioxidant capacity by FRAP (Ferric Reduction Antioxidant Power), CUPRAC (Cupric Ion Reducing Antioxidant Capacity), DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl) and ABTS (2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline6-sulfonic acid) methods based on radical neutralization, and the total polyphenol content by the Folin-Ciocalteu method. Total dry matter content and ash content were determined by gravimetry, while the total soluble dry matter content was determined by refractometry. For the evaluation of the results, descriptive statistical analyses, variance analysis, non-parametric statistical tests, Spearman rank correlation and a statistical method based on sum of rank differences (SRD) multicriteria comparison were used. The patulin contamination did not reach the maximum legal limit value for any of the products. Significant differences were found between the total and soluble dry matter contents of the various product groups. The ash content varies, but there is no significant difference between the two product categories. In general, the hydroxymethylfurfural content is higher in the case of products manufactured from concentrate, however, it was a press juice that contained extreme amounts of this compound. In the case of press juices, higher antioxidant activities and polyphenolic compound contents were found by all method. There are significant differences between the individual products in terms of the latter parameters (p<0.05). Using the SRD method, it was determined which of the products tested possessed the most optimal characteristics from a nutrition science point of view. The product groups tested differ significantly from each other in terms of almost all of the parameters measured. In general, the dry matter content of the press juices is higher, as a result of the fiber content. These products have higher antioxidant capacity values and polyphenolic compound contents, so they are nutritionally more beneficial. The latter parameters correlate well with each other, indicating the dominance of polyphenols in the development of antioxidant properties

Eye-tracking analysis of leafy vegetables

There is a great supply of leafy vegetables on the market; hence capturing consumer’s attention (and decision) is critically important. Several scientific publications deal with consumer choices and the newest technology to capture consumer attention is eye-tracking. Eye-trackers are commonly used in Western Europe and Asia also, where it is an important and widely-used tool during product developments and the creation of marketing strategies. In Hungary, there are only a few publications about eye-tracking applications in vegetable growing and food industry. In our research, photographs about sorrel, lamb lettuce, spinach, leaf lettuce and dandelion leafs were analysed by eye-tracking technology and the eye movements of the participants during their decision making process of leafy vegetables were captured and evaluated. The eye-tracking analyses were carried out in the Sensory Laboratory of the Faculty of Food Sciences of Szent István University, using a Tobii X2-60 eye-tracker and Tobii Studio (version 3.0.5, Tobii Technology AB, Sweden) software. We aimed to answer the following research questions: Are there any connections between the eye movements of participants and their decisions? What amount of visual attention can be registered during the decision making process? Furthermore, the following metrics were measured and evaluated: fixation durations on the leafy vegetables, number of returns to products, pathways of visual attention, time until the final decision making and motivation of their final decisions. Measurement of the subconscious consumer decision making processes is way easier using eye-trackers compared to the traditional questionnaire-based methods, because it is hard or impossible to control our eye movements. Eye-tracking can be used successfully for understanding the expectations and decisions of the consumers

Revision of the performance evaluation methods of sensory panellists performing descriptive analysis

Sensory tests form the basis for sensory science. Sensory science uses human senses as measurement tools. During sensory tests, the properties of a product are evaluated by sensory panelists and by a sensory panel consisting of them. Decisions made after sensory tests are fundamentally determined by the quality of the data experienced, therefore, the quality of sensory data is determined by the trained and expert sensory sensory panel and its members. In our work, revision of the correlation and regression methods recommended by the standard titled „MSZ ISO 11132:2013 Sensory analysis. Methodology. Guidelines for monitoring the performance of a quantitative sensory panel” are described, and corrections are suggested

Correlations between value-based segmentation and eye movements during a food choice task: case study with breads

Connections between eye-movements and self-reported values were analyzed in this study. Cluster analysis of self-reported values of 140 participants was performed using internal cluster validity measures and the obtained optimal number of clusters was six. Differences between clusters were found in decision times where eco-ra-tionalists, who rated true friendship, comfortable life, environment and energy conscious life and economical living as highly important, needed more time to choose one from the three bread alternatives. These results were strengthened by the analysis of the eye-tracking variables which showed that members of the eco-rationalist and family-oriented clusters spent more time to gaze at the stimuli. Our results confirmed that there is a significant link between the self-reported values and eye-movements; hence it is advisable to split the participants into groups according to their self-reported values prior to eye-tracking in order to avoid false conclusions