Extruded snacks from industrial by-products: a review

Background Within the context of circular economy, there is an emergent need to convert food processing by-products into useful ingredients, thanks also to the recent technological advances in processing techniques. Extruded cereal-based snacks are popular products, however many snacks on the market are currently high in salt, fat and sugar, with an overall low nutritional value. Scope and approach With the growth of healthy and sustainable diets and with consumers better understanding the links between diet, health and the environment, there is an opportunity to develop novel healthy and eco-friendly extruded snacks. Within this context, food industry by-products, such as fruit and vegetable pomace and bagasse, oilseed cakes, brewers spent grains, cereal brans and whey, could be used as excellent sources of nutritionally enhancing and eco-friendly compounds. This review summarizes the research published within the last five years on cereal-based snacks produced using food by-products. Key findings and conclusions The production of extruded snacks with food by-products will need novel technologies that limit heat damage, both during drying of the food by-product and the extrusion process. The percentage of by-product inclusion and the particle size of the by-product added require further investigation. The economic sustainability and the environmental impact of snacks produced with food by-products should be explored in a more holistic approach. Current research is focussed mainly on reformulation strategies rather than sensory or consumer aspects. These gaps needs to be addressed and future research on extruded snacks from by-products should be more multidisciplinary, covering technical, sensory, consumer, economic and sustainability aspects

Potential of a sunflower seed by-product as animal fat replacer in healthier Frankfurters

Upcycled defatted sunflower seed flour (SUN), a by-product obtained from sunflower oil extraction, was used as an animal fat replacer to develop healthier frankfurters. For that end, animal fat was replaced (~50%) with water and 2% or 4% of SUN. Nutritional composition, technological, structural and sensorial properties were evaluated. SUN incorporation led to a significant increase in protein, minerals (magnesium, potassium, copper and manganese) and a decrease in fat content (~37% less than control with all animal fat). The incorporation of SUN in frankfurters promoted the presence of phenolic compounds. Increasing SUN addition lead to an increasingly (p < 0.05) darker frankfurter colour. Samples with SUN at 4% were firmer than the control according to TPA and sensory analysis results and showed the highest lipid disorder attributed to more lipid interactions in the meat matrix. SUN addition as an animal fat replacer in frankfurters is a feasible strategy to valorise sunflower oil by-products and obtain healthier frankfurters

Enabling sustainable plant-forward transition: European consumer attitudes and intention to buy hybrid products

Although recommendations for a transition towards more plant-forward diets have been proposed and despite consumers reporting willingness to reduce meat consumption, consumer behaviour is frequently less environmentally sustainable than recommended. This calls for simpler strategies that may lead to a more optimistic view on both supply and demand side by using less rigid and more flexible approaches, such as hybrid products, combining meat and plant-based ingredients. Against this milieu, present study examines for the first-time in a cross-cultural context (Denmark, Spain, UK) and on a large consumer sample (N = 2766), attitudes and intention to buy hybrid products, while taking into account consumers individual traits related to meat attachment, health consciousness and environmental self-identity. Results show that hybrid products could be a crucial driver for enabling a successful plant-forward transition, as the meat element in these products, together with consumers’ affinity and pleasure-seeking attitudes towards meat, would facilitate consumers’ acceptance of more sustainable alternatives. Indeed, our results show that sensory perceptions play a major role in mediating the effect of consumers’ attitudes on intention to buy hybrid products. Conversely, consumers’ environmental self-identity and health consciousness have minimal to no effect on consumers’ attitudes towards hybrid products. Thus, the results of our study support the value of strategies centring on bringing the best of two worlds: the pleasurable sensory characteristics of the meat realm, and the healthiness and sustainability benefits of the plant realm. In this sense, hybrid products could be an elegant initial approach adopted by practitioners and supported by policy makers to enable a more nuanced transition from fully meat-based to plant-forward diets

Consumers behaviour towards carbon footprint labels on food: a review of the literature and discussion of industry implications

Carbon footprint labels allow manufactures to show information about the impact that their food production has on the environment, as well as to help consumers make more sustainable choices. Thus, investigating consumers’ reaction towards carbon footprint labels is vital to understand their effectiveness. The aim of this manuscript is to identify the state of the art and research gaps on this topic, by conducting a literature review of published scientific article between 2011 and 2020. In total, 38 papers emerged. Findings show that females, adults, with higher income and educational level have a more positive attitude towards carbon footprint labels. Furthermore, people expressing higher environmental concern and those who are used to buy eco-friendly labelled foods are willing to pay more for carbon footprint labelled foods. However, it also emerges that consumers still have poor knowledge of carbon measurements and the existing carbon footprint label system is still unclear. When carbon footprint labels are re-designed using consumers friendly symbols (e.g., traffic light colours), consumers’ understanding significantly increases. Consumers from countries like Egypt and China also show a positive attitude towards carbon footprint information, meaning that a carbon footprint label system should be developed also in the emerging countries. Nonetheless, when carbon footprint is presented with other labels (e.g., organic, Fair Trade etc.) consumers show the lowest willingness to pay for carbon footprint information. It was also found that using a carbon footprint label on environmentally sustainable produced foods (e.g., using upcycled ingredients) increses willingness to pay. Food manufacturers should better inform consumers on carbon footprint labels and policy makers are advised to develop a consumers friendlier carbon footprint label system to incentivize more sustainable choices. This paper is the first to summarize existing literature on consumers’ behaviour for carbon footprint labelled foods, providing a discussion of the implications for food manufacturers and policy makers, as well as future research avenues

Consumer preferences for upcycled ingredients: a case study with biscuits

Nowadays, there is a growing interest to add value to food industry by-products and incorporate them as new ingredients for novel food products. However, there is very little knowledge about consumers’ reactions towards novel food products made with upcycled ingredients. This manuscript provides the first critical scientific investigation of UK consumers’ preferences for novel food products made with upcycled ingredients using four attributes: price (£0.40/300 g pack or £1.50/300 g pack), flour (“with wheat flour” or “with upcycled sunflower”), protein (“source of protein” or no information) and Carbon Trust label (“with Carbon Trust label" or no label). Using a hypothetical ranking experiment involving biscuits, results showed that consumers prefer biscuits made with conventional (i.e., wheat) flour and tend to reject biscuits made with upcycled sunflower flour. Results suggest there is heterogeneity in consumers’ valuation, with three groups identified: the first group with price sensitive consumers and the strongest preferences for low price biscuits, the second group with traditionalist consumers and strongest rejection for upcycled sunflower flour, the third group with environmentalist consumers and the strongest preference for biscuits with the Carbon Trust label. Most consumers had not heard of upcycled ingredients before, but they would consider buying foods with upcycled ingredients.These findings provide insights into the psychology of consumers’ preferences, which can be used to most effectively communicate the benefits of upcycled ingredients to the public. This will also have important implications for future labelling strategies for policy makers providing valuable insights to upcycled food products’ manufacturers

Do consumers value food products containing upcycled ingredients? The effect of nutritional and environmental information

This study was the first to use a ranking experiment to estimate the effect of nutritional and environmental information on UK consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for biscuits containing an upcycled ingredient, namely, defatted sunflower cake flour. Informing consumers about the nutritional and/or environmental benefits of the upcycled ingredient resulted in a significant increase in their WTP for this new food. Moreover, we found that nutritional and/or environmental information similarly affected individual WTP distributions for the upcycled ingredient towards more positive values. Our findings have important implications for product development and marketing strategies of upcycled food businesses

Consumers’ perspectives on eggs from insect-fed hens: a UK focus group study

In recent years, there has been growing interest in insects as an alternative to soybean meal as laying hen feed due to nutrition, sustainability, and animal welfare benefits. Although some studies have investigated consumer acceptance and intentions towards insect-fed foodstuffs, no studies are available on eggs from insect-fed hens. This qualitative study aimed to explore consumers’ attitudes and perceptions towards eggs from insect-fed hens and factors influencing intentions to consume and purchase the product. Three focus group discussions were employed with a total of 19 individuals from the UK. Results showed that the environmental, animal welfare, and food waste benefits of feeding hens with insects positively influenced attitudes. Results also indicated price and disgust towards insects as feed were the main barriers, while enhanced welfare standards (e.g., free-range labelling) and information on benefits were main drivers. Therefore, the study suggests that educating and informing consumers about the benefits of feeding hens with insects may increase intentions to consume and purchase eggs from insect-fed hens. Given this emerging area of research, this study contributes to the limited literature on insect-fed foodstuffs and paves the way for further research on the topic

Part meat and part plant: are hybrid meat products fad or future?

There is a growing interest in flexitarian diets, which has resulted in the commercialisation of new hybrid meat products, containing both meat and plant-based ingredients. Consumer attitudes towards hybrid meat products have not been explored, and it is not clear which factors could affect the success of such products. This study is the first to overview of the UK hybrid meat product market and to explore consumer’s attitudes towards hybrid meat products in 201 online reviews, using tools and techniques of corpus linguistics (language analysis). In the positive reviews, consumers emphasised the taste dimension of the hybrid meat products, seeing them as healthier options with good texture and easy to prepare. The negative reviews related to the poor sensory quality and not to the concept of hybridity itself. Using a multidisciplinary approach, our findings revealed valuable insights into consumer attitudes and highlighted factors to consider to market new hybrid meat products effectively

Growth hormone nadir during oral glucose load depends on waist circumference, gender and age: normative data in 231 healthy subjects.

Objective  (i) To analyse the predictors of GH suppression after standard glucose load (oGTT) in the healthy population and (ii) to establish the 97th percentile of GH nadir post-oGTT according to these variables. Design  Analytical, retrospective. Measurements  GH nadir after oGTT. Subjects  Two hundred and thirty-one healthy subjects (113 women, 118 men 15-80 years) were studied. Results  The GH nadir after glucose load ranged from 0·01 (<assay detection limit) to 0·65 μg/l was higher in women and was inversely correlated with age, BMI, waist circumference, waist/hip, total cholesterol, triglycerides, basal and maximal glucose and basal insulin levels and directly correlated with basal GH levels, IGF-I SDS and HDL-cholesterol (P values ranging 0·004-<0·0001). On multistep regression analysis, the best predictors of nadir GH levels were waist circumference (t = -9·64, P < 0·0001), gender (t = -3·86, P = 0·0001) and age (t = -3·63, P = 0·0003). The results of comparative analysis among subjects grouped according to these variable showed different results in GH nadir in premenopausal women with waist circumference ≤88 cm (97th percentile 0·65 μg/l), in premenopausal women with waist circumference ≤88 cm and in men of any age with waist circumference ≤102 cm (97th percentile 0·33 μg/l) and in subjects of either gender and any age with waist circumference >88 cm in women and 102 cm in men (97th percentile 0·16 μg/l). Conclusions  The results of this study show that GH nadir after oGTT should be analysed according to gender, menopausal status and waist circumference. The GH cut-off should be limited to the assay used

A validated method for cholesterol determination in turkey meat products using relative response factors

The objective of this study was to develop a precise and accurate method to quantify cholesterol in turkey meat products using relative response factors, based on a modification of a previously published method for plant sterols determination. Validation was performed using neat solutions to determine linearity, precision, and accuracy. The method was linear in the concentration range considered (1–20 µg/mL, r2 ≥ 0.991). Precision and accuracy were within the acceptability guidelines of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for method validation (<20% relative standard deviation (RSD) at the lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) and <15% RSD for other standards). Turkey meat was spiked with cholesterol at two levels (low = 3 µg/mL and high = 18 µg/mL), either before or after saponification, to establish the recovery and matrix effects. Recovery ranged from 94% to 105%, with a mean value of 105% at the low spike level and 95% at the high spike level. No significant matrix effects were found (90% to 112% recovery). This method is reliable for the quantification of cholesterol in turkey meat products in the range 0.4–8 mg/g