Knowledge and Attitude towards Label Claim and Health Benefits of Dark Chocolates among Customers of Oman—Cross-Sectional Survey

Dark chocolate is one of the most studied foods in the recent period due to its potential effects and health benefits. Admittedly, people's attitudes and acceptance of dark chocolate are still unknown. The cross-sectional study was aimed to determine the usage and effect of dark chocolate on health. It also aimed to study the attitude of young adults in Oman towards the consumption of dark chocolate and to discover the most preferred brands of DC in the Omani market. The study was conducted from spring 2020 to Fall 2021 in Oman. Two types of surveys were conducted. Firstly, a product survey was done to compare some brands according to the price, ingredient, expiry date, and country of origin. Secondly, across sectional-based survey was done focusing on the health benefits of consuming dark chocolate. Three hundred and forty-five (345) respondents participated in completing this survey. The results proved that many people are now aware of the health benefits of dark chocolate. The majority of the participants expressed their knowledge of the health aspect of dark chocolate and their interest in choosing the best product by examining the ingredients - especially the cocoa percentage- of the product before purchasing.

Sensory Specific Desires. The Role of Sensory Taste Exposure in Desire for Food with a Similar or Different Taste Profile

The present study investigated how the sensory taste profile of a meal altered the subjective desire, wanting and liking of foods with a sweet, salty, sour, bitter, fatty, and spicy sensory profile, respectively. Participants (n = 85) ate a meal with a pronounced sensory taste profile: (1) sweet, (2) salty, or (3) sweet and salty combined. Self-reports of appetite, pleasantness, and sensory specific desires (SSD) were evaluated over the course of the meal using VAS-scales. SSDs were further studied through alterations in liking and desire for food samples with the main sensory profile being sweet (peach), salty (pretzel), sour (green apple), bitter (dark chocolate), fatty (whipped cream), and spicy (chilli nut), respectively. Consumption of food with a pronounced sensory taste profile was found to suppress the desire for food with a similar sensory taste profile, while the desire for different sensory profiles were enhanced or not affected. Further, when exposed to two pronounced tastes within the same meal, suppression of sensory desires was not only specific for the exposure tastes but tended to go beyond the sensory exposure. The findings suggest that taste variation within a meal holds the potential to create more satisfying meals, which can hinder additional desires after a meal and thus, lower additional calorie intake.

PENGARUH COKELAT HITAM TERHADAP INTENSITAS NYERI DISMENORE PRIMER PADA MAHASISWI AKADEMI KEBIDANAN SALEHA BANDA ACEH

Perempuan merupakan makhluk yang memiliki sistem reproduksi yang cukup unik yaitu mengalami haid setiap bulannya. Perempuan yang mengalami menstruasi, biasanya mengalami nyeri dengan tingkat dan sifat yang berbeda-beda mulai dari nyeri ringan hingga nyeri berat. Kondisi tersebut dinamakan Dismenorhea, yaitu suatu keadaan simptomatik yang meliputi nyeri abdomen, kram dan sakit pada bagian punggung saat menstruasi yang dapat mengganggu kegiatan sehari-hari. Angka kejadian dismenorea tipe primer di Indonesia sekitar 54,89% pada wanita usia subur. Mengkonsumsi dark chocolate diketahui dapat meningkatkan jumlah magnesium dalam tubuh dan mengurangi rasa sakit saat menstruasi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh cokelat hitam terhadap penurunan nyeri dismenorhae primer. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif dengan jenis penelitian quasi eksperimen. Desain yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah one group pretest–posttest desain. Adapun sampel pada penelitian ini adalah mahasiswi akademi Kebidanan Saleha Banda Aceh yang mengalami dismenorhea ditetapkan sebanyak 30 orang sebagai kelompok perlakuan dengan teknik pengambilan sampel non-probability sampling, yaitu quota sampling.KelompokPeneliti akan mendatngi sampel saat sampel mengalami dismenorhea, lalu meminta sampel mengisi ukuran skala nyeri sesuai yang dirasakan, lalu sampel akan cokelat hitam batang 72% sebanyak 35 gram untuk dikonsumsi dan tingkat nyeri akan diukur lagi 2 jam setelah cokelat dihabiskan. Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan uji Wilcoxon menunjukkan bahwa nilai signifikansi (Sig.) sebesar 0,000 kurang dari α (α=0,05). Hal ini menunjukkan terdapat perbedaan bermakna antara skala nyeri dismenorhea sebelum dan sesudah diberikan cokelat hitam. Mengkonsumsi cokelat hitam 72% sebanyak 35 gram berpengaruh terhadap penurunan intensitas nyeri haid dismenorhae primer pada remaja.

Projective mapping of preferences on milk and dark chocolate bar fortified nanocapsules Arthrospira carotenoid

The characteristics in milk or dark chocolate Arthrospira products require testing before the product is released to the market. The purpose of this study was to use the Projective Mapping (PM) method to determine the characteristics and preferences of consumers toward milk or dark chocolate Arthrospira carotenoid products compared to commercial milk or dark chocolate products on the market, and to analyze the factors that can influence consumers’ purchasing intention. The chocolate samples tested were Arthospira milk chocolate and ten commercial milk chocolate samples (SQ, DF, LD, DV, CB, MG, VH, BB, TB, and WD). The dark one compares to ten commercial dark chocolates (SQ, M5, M6, M7, DC, WD, TB, BB, LD, and DV). The factors that influence consumers’ purchasing intentions are identified through an online survey and analyzed using chi-square. A total of 159 people (68 PM respondents and 91 non-PM respondents) took part in the milk chocolate poll, while 92 people (41 PM respondents and 51 non-PM respondents) took part in the dark chocolate poll. PM test shows consumers perceive milk chocolate and dark chocolate fortified with nanocapsules Arthospira carotenoid to be similar in taste, appearance, texture, and price to some commercial chocolate bar products, implying that both chocolate products fortified with nanocapsulesArthospira carotenoid can compete in the market. The results of the chi-square test for milk chocolate show that for PM respondents, socio-demographic factors, consumer habits of buying chocolate bars, knowledge of Arthrospira, and the benefits of consuming Arthospira influence their buying interest, whereas for non-PM respondents, consumer habits of buying chocolate bars influence their buying intention. The results of the dark chocolate chi-square test show that respondents’ knowledge of the benefits of consuming chocolate bars and the emotion conducted to consume chocolate bars and influence their purchasing interest.

Chemical characteristics of Indonesian single-origin cocoa beans and the effect of tempering treatments on dark chocolate - a preliminary study

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of geographical origin on the chemical characteristics of cocoa beans and to determine the effect of tempering treatment on the glossiness of dark chocolate. In this study, three roasted single-origin cocoa nibs, i.e., single-origin Kulon Progo, Aceh, and Gunung Kidul, were analysed to determine their moisture content, ash, crude protein, total fat, and pH value, as well as their sensory properties. Kulon Progo cocoa nibs were mostly preferred and further processed into dark chocolate using three tempering variations and analysed to determine their glossiness, texture, and colour. The glossiness level of dark chocolates under different tempering treatments was ranked using RedJade Sensory Software. Data were analysed using Minitab 17.0 Statistical Software. The results show that single-origin cocoa beans from Kulon Progo had the lowest moisture content (1.33 ± 0.015 %) and the highest fat content (54.01 ± 0.434 %). Dark chocolate tempered at 50:32:27:32°C had the most preferred glossy appearance (2.59 out of 3.00).

Comparison of the Chemical and Sensorial Evaluation of Dark Chocolate Bars

As it mimics olfactory perception, headspace analysis is frequently used for examination of products like chocolate, in which aroma is a key feature. Chemical analysis by itself, however, only provides half the picture, as final consumer’s perception cannot be compared to that of a Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) port, but rather to a panel test assessment. The aim of the present study was the evaluation of combined chemical (by means of headspace solid-phase microextraction and GC-MS) and panel test data (by means of a sensory evaluation operated by 6 untrained panelists) obtained for 24 dark chocolate bars to assess whether these can discriminate between bars from different brands belonging to different commercial segments (hard discount, HD; supermarket, SM; organic bars, BIO). In all samples, with the only exception of one supermarket bar (in which esters exhibited the highest relative abundance), pyrazines were detected as the most abundant chemical class (HD: 56.3–74.2%; BIO: 52.0–76.4%; SM: 31.2–88.9%). Non-terpene alcohols, aldehydes, and esters followed as quantitatively relevant groups of compounds. The obtained data was then subjected to hierarchical cluster (HCA) and principal component (PCA) analysis. The statistical distribution of samples obtained for the chemical data did not match that obtained with panelists’ sensorial data. Moreover, although an overall ability of grouping samples of the same commercial origin was evidenced for hard discount and supermarket bars, no sharp grouping was possible.