Wearing a mint-scented face mask reduces appetite

Previous studies have shown that mint scents reduce chocolate craving. However, two questions remain: whether the effect is an artifact of demand characteristics in which participants were aware that the study aimed to examine the effect of mint scent, and whether mint scent reduces appetite for foods generally other than chocolate. The present study took advantage of the fact that wearing face masks in public is becoming a standard norm because of the COVID-19 pandemic, to manipulate scent presentation to participants. We investigated the potential application of mint-scented masks for appetite control. Participants who were deceived that wearing masks were for consumer testing to eliminate demand characteristics rated their perceived wanting to eat for a variety of food images that had been preliminarily rated for perceived wanting while wearing a mint-scented mask (or an unscented control mask). The results showed that wearing a mint-scented compared to an unscented mask reduced perceived wanting for foods regardless of base wanting. The results demonstrate a novel potential application of mint-scented masks, namely appetite control, and replicates and extends the generalizability of past findings by excluding artifacts of demand characteristics.

A comparison of consumer response using paper and digital ballots for eating quality assessment of beef steaks

A consumer study was conducted to determine if consumers scored beef palatability traits differently on paper vs. digital ballots. Beef subprimals were collected to represent four treatments with inherent variation in eating quality: USDA Select eye round aged 7 d postmortem, USDA Select strip loin aged 7 d postmortem, USDA Choice tenderloin aged 21 d postmortem, and USDA Prime strip loin aged 21 d postmortem. Accessory muscles, external fat, and connective tissue were removed from subprimals. Muscles were fabricated into 2.5 cm steaks and further divided into 2 equal halves for consumer testing. Consumers (n = 360) were served eight samples divided into two blocks representing the two ballot types. Select longissimus lumborum samples were always served in the first and fifth position to start each ballot block, with the remaining three treatments served in a randomized order between the latter three positions within each ballot block. Consumers rated each steak sample for tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking, and overall liking on either a paper or digital ballot, and then rated the paired steak halves on the opposite ballot during the second block of sample testing. Ballot type influenced (P < 0.02) all traits, as consumers scored tenderness, juiciness, flavor liking, and overall liking greater (P < 0.05) on paper ballots compared to digital ballots, regardless of treatment. The smallest margin between paper and digital ballots was observed for tenderness, where scores only differed by 1.8 units. However, juiciness, flavor liking, and overall liking all differed by 3.4 units in favor of paper ballots. Consumers scored palatability traits greater on paper ballots compared to digital ballots, and these findings were consistent across a range of eating quality outcomes. These results should be considered when comparing past consumer testing results using paper balloting systems to those where digital ballots were used.

Effect of Filter Types on Physicochemical Properties, Volatile Compounds, and Sensory Evaluations of Purified Water by Point-of-Use Water Treatment

This study investigated purified water from four different filter types for removing minerals, anions, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and affecting sensory perception and consumer acceptability. Ultrafiltration (UF), CSM-ultrafiltration (CU), alumina nanofiber (AN), and reverse osmosis (RO) filters were used for a point-of-use water treatment system with a pre-carbon filter (PR) and post-carbon filter (PO). Filters efficiently removed VOCs, which could negatively affect the sensory perception of water. The total VOC concentration of tap water (TW) (14.97 µg/Kg) was reduced by 70% by the PR, 75.3–88.7% by the PR-main filter, and >97% by the PR-RO-PR. Using the polarized sensory position test, the subjects clearly discriminated TW from the samples; however, most of the purified water was not. The difference in the mean ratings of consumer acceptability among the purified samples was <1 except for PR-RO-PO in consumer testing. These results suggested that although there are differences in the capability of different filter types to eliminate minerals, anions, and VOCs, overall consumers did not identify sensory differences among them, and demonstrated similar consumer acceptability of the purified water produced. Simply applying a pre-carbon filter for TW treatment is enough to minimize VOCs, which negatively influence consumer acceptability.

1-Methylcyclopropene Improves Postharvest Performances and Sensorial Attributes of Annurca-Type Apples Exposed to the Traditional Reddening in Open-Field Melaio

The Annurca type is an historical Italian apple fruit probably native to the Campania region. These fruits are harvested before a full maturity stage and go through an open-field reddening process. Products based on 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) are widely used in postharvest to improve apple quality and avoid disorders in controlled atmosphere. In this work, we tested the impact of 1-MCP in the traditional reddening system of Annurca type by analyzing three postharvest strategies, namely, fruits exposed for ten days to the traditional reddening and then cold-stored (RDG treatment); fruits treated in postharvest with 1-MCP and then cold-stored (MCP treatment); fruits treated in postharvest with 1-MCP, exposed for ten days to the open-field reddening and then cold-stored (MCP + RDG treatment). Using a full factorial design, we measured main physical and compositional traits and described the properties of the products by consumer testing at two storage times. The MCP + RDG treatment provided the most valuable results, by positively affecting fruit flesh firmness and several sensorial attributes (e.g., hardness, crunchiness, juiciness, sweetness), including a reduction of the mealiness. At the end of the cold-storage, MCP + RDG apples scored a higher consumer’s overall liking. The work demonstrated that the 1-MCP technology can be integrated into a traditional open-field postharvest process to improve fruit quality and, potentially, to extend the shelf life of Annurca apples.

Quality Characteristics and Consumer Acceptance of High-Moisture Mozzarella Obtained from Heat-Treated Goat Milk

High-moisture mozzarella is a pasta filata cheese manufactured from cow or buffalo milk that has spread all over the world. Its manufacturing from the milk of small ruminants (goat and sheep) has been recently proposed to innovate this ailing sector. Previously, a protocol was reported for making goat mozzarella from unpasteurized milk but, according to legislation, the microbiological safety of raw milk fresh cheeses is not guaranteed. In the present research, two new protocols were tested for producing mozzarella from pasteurized milk prepared by two different low-temperature long-time treatments (67 °C or 63 °C × 30 min). The obtained cheeses were subjected to physical–chemical and microbiological analyses and to consumer testing. The results showed that the heat treatments caused longer coagulation times than those reported in the literature, despite pre-acidification (at pH 5.93 or 6.35) having been performed to counterbalance the expected worsening of the coagulation aptitude. The obtained products showed differences in the chemical composition, texture, proteolysis, and lipolysis. Both pasteurization and pre-acidification played a role in determining these variations. Consumer testing indicated that mozzarella obtained from milk heated at the lower temperature and coagulated at a higher pH reached a good level of appreciation (62%).

Generating New Snack Food Texture Ideas Using Sensory and Consumer Research Tools: A Case Study of the Japanese and South Korean Snack Food Markets

Food companies spend a large amount of money and time to explore markets and consumer trends for ideation. Finding new opportunities in food product development is a challenging assignment. The majority of new products launched in the market are either copies of existing concepts or line extensions. This study demonstrates how the global marketplace can be used for generating new texture concepts for snack foods. One hundred and twenty-three prepacked snack foods from South Korea (SK) and ninety-five from Japan (JP) were purchased for this study. Projective mapping (PM) was used to sort the snacks on a 2-dimensional map (texture and flavor). Sensory scientists grouped snacks on similarities and dissimilarities. PM results showed, 65% (JP) and 76% (SK) snacks were considered as hard textures, ranging from moderate to extremely hard. Sixty-five percent of JP snacks were savory, whereas 59% of SK snacks had a sweet flavor. The PM 2-dimensional map was used to find white spaces in the marketplace. Thirty-two diversified snacks from each country were screened and profiled using descriptive sensory analysis by trained panelists. Attributes such as sustained fracturability, sustained crispness, initial crispness, and fracturability were the main sensory texture characteristics of snacks. Results showed how descriptive analysis results can be used as initial sensory specifications to develop prototypes. Prototype refinement can be performed by doing multiple developmental iterations and consumer testing. The study showed how white spaces are potential opportunities where new products can be positioned to capture market space. Practical Application: The methodology produced in this study can be used by food product developers to explore new opportunities in the global marketplace.