Sensory characteristics of flavored milk candies

A natural milk candy, composed mainly of milk powder, has not been commercially sold in the U. S. market. The milk candy we developed contains calcium and other essential nutrients, which make it a potential food supplement for adults and children. This thesis research was designed to characterize sensory properties of flavored milk candies and to determine the consumer sensory profile driving product acceptance and purchase intent. A descriptive trained panel (n=12) developed a lexicon and evaluated 3 milk candies (plain, chocolate, and coffee) in triplicate using a 15-cm line scale. 335 adult consumers evaluated acceptability of appearance, size/shape, texture, aroma, specific flavor, sweetness, and overall liking of three flavored milk candies. 92 children evaluated acceptability of overall liking of chocolate and plain flavored milk candies. Data were statistically analyzed. A lexicon included aroma notes: buttery, caramel, cheesy, and cooked; flavor notes: buttery, caramel, cooked, and sweet. Evaluations of the flavored milk candies revealed that they were different, based on descriptive sensory attributes. Cheesy aroma, buttery aroma and caramel aroma were discriminating attributes, while sweet and cooked flavors were least discriminating. Chocolate and coffee flavors may be used to mask strong undesirable cheesy and cooked flavor and aroma notes. Taste, specific flavor, overall liking and aroma were critical to acceptance of the products. Different flavors added to the milk candy caused a significant difference in the consumer responses toward sensory attributes evaluated. Acceptance of the three milk candies could be predicted by taste, specific flavor, sweetness, and overall liking. The purchase intent of flavored milk candies was positively influenced by flavor, overall liking, specific flavor and acceptance. Children liked the chocolate flavored milk candy better than the plain one. There were no significant differences in the way children and adults accepted chocolate and plain milk candies. Our survey indicated that consumers would be more willing to buy flavored milk candies enriched with calcium and minerals that promote health benefit. Further consumer sensory studies together with marketing research are needed to confirm the outcome from this study and to warrant the potential of this new product in the US market

Dietary patterns and their relationship with the perceptions of healthy eating in European adolescents : the HELENA study

Objective: The aim of this study was to identify dietary patterns (DPs) in European adolescents and to examine the association between perceptions of healthy eating and the obtained DPs. Method: A multinational cross-sectional study was carried out in adolescents aged 12.5 to 17.5?years and 2,027 (44.9% males) were considered for analysis. A self-reported questionnaire with information on food choices and preferences, including perceptions of healthy eating, and two 24-hour dietary recalls were used. Principal component analysis was used to obtain sex-specific DPs, and linear analyses of covariance were used to compare DPs according to perceptions of healthy eating. Results: Three and four DPs for boys and girls were obtained. In boys and girls, there were significant associations between some perceptions about healthy food and the Breakfast-DP (p?<?0.05). In boys, Breakfast-DP and Healthy Beverage-DP were associated with the perception of the own diet as healthy (p?<?0.05). Healthy Beverage-DP was associated with those disliking fruits and vegetables (p?<?0.05). Girls considering the own diet as healthy were associated with Mediterranean-DP, Breakfast-DP, and Unhealthy Beverage and Meat-DP (p?<?0.05). The perception of snacking as a necessary part of a healthy diet was associated with Breakfast-DP in both genders (p?<?0.05). Conclusions: In European adolescents, perceptions of healthy eating were mainly associated with a DP characterized by foods consumed at breakfast. Future studies should further explore these findings in order to implement health promotion programs to improve healthy eating habits in adolescents