Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) rind flour: Development and characterization of a novel watermelon byproduct.

Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus) is a fruit widely consumed by the Brazilian population; however, its rind is usually discarded, despite its nutritional value. This work aimed to develop a watermelon rind flour (WRF) and a fiber-rich bread. The WRF was submitted to microbiological analysis, proximate composition, antioxidant activity, and a profile of phenolic compounds. Six types of bread were developed: three using WRF (20%, 30%, and 40% of wheat flour replacement) and three control samples (only wheat flour), which were submitted to the same analysis, in addition to colorimetric properties, instrumental texture profile, and sensory evaluation (check-all-that-apply, purchase intent, and acceptance test). A high fiber content was observed in WRF (27.15%). The total concentration of phenolic compounds was 2.38 ± 0.20 mg of gallic acid equivalent per g and benzoic acid was the main compound found (73.50 mg/100 g WRF). The results of the antioxidant capacity through the DPPH method indicated a 30% reduction. The WRF 40% bread had 3.06 g of insoluble fiber, characterizing itself as a source of fiber. In the instrumental texture analysis, it was observed that bread hardness increased significantly as the WRF content increased. The formulation of the bread containing WRF is an alternative for the use of waste, favoring the development of a fiber-source product, with a functional food claim.

Physicochemical Characterization, Antioxidant Capacity, and Sensory Properties of Murici (Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth) and Taperebá (Spondias mombin L.) Beverages.

Amazonian fruits are excellent sources of bioactive compounds and can be used in beverages to improve the nutritional and sensorial characteristics. The present study aimed to develop a blend of murici (Byrsonima Crassifolia (L.) Kunth) and taperebá (Spondias Mombin L.) through experimental design and investigating the nutritional and sensorial characteristics of fruits and beverages. The murici was highlighted as higher vitamin C content (58.88 mg · 100 g-1) compared to taperebá (25.93 mg · 100 g-1). The murici and taperebá are good sources of total phenolic compounds (taperebá 1304.15 ± 19.14 mgGAE · 100 g-1 and the murici of 307.52 ± 19.73 mg GAE · 100 g-1) and flavonoids (174.87 ± 1.76 µgQE/g and 129.46 ± 10.68 µgQE/g, murici and taperebá, respectively), when compared to other Brazilian fruits. The antioxidant capacity in different methods revealed that the taperebá had a higher average in the results, only in the ORAC method and did not present a significant difference (p > 0.05) in relation to the murici. The beverage development was performed using experimental design 23, showed through sensory analysis and surface response methodology that murici and high sugar content (between 12.5 and 14.2% of sugar) influenced in sensory acceptance. Our findings indicate that beverages with improved nutrition and a sensory acceptance can be prepared using taperebá and murici fruits.

Fruit-based drink sensory, physicochemical, and antioxidant properties in the Amazon region: Murici (Byrsonima crassifolia (L.) Kunth and verbascifolia (L.) DC) and tapereba (Spondia mombin).

Increased fruit consumption due its protective effect on the organism is accompanied by the development of the processing industry of these products. The aim of this work was to optimize fruit pulp-based beverage formulations from the murici and tapereba Amazon region, taking into account their sensory acceptance and antioxidant activity. Total soluble solid content, reducing sugar content, titratable acidity contents, pH, and ascorbic acid content were determined in pulps and formulations. The total content phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were also evaluated. A 22 factorial experiment was formulated to optimize ingredients for the production of murici and tapereba fruit drinks. The murici pulp had higher acidity and higher ascorbic acid content. The analysis of phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity presented higher quantity in tapereba pulp. Tapereba-based beverages had better acceptance by the evaluated criteria. Fruit-based beverages murici and tapereba are a well-accepted product and have important nutritional characteristics.

Comparison of rapid sensory characterization methodologies for the development of functional yogurts.

Functional food development is a long, complex, expensive and risky process. Methodologies that provide reliable information about the sensory characteristics of the developed products in short time frames can speed up the product development process and contribute to the success of the developed products in the marketplace. In this context, the aim of the present work was to compare three rapid methodologies for sensory characterization with descriptive analysis during the development of low-fat functional yogurts, enriched with probiotics and prebiotics. Eight low-fat probiotic yogurts enriched with a prebiotic ingredient were formulated following a 23 full factorial design with the following factors: sugar concentration, prebiotic ingredient and stabilizer concentration. A panel of 9 trained assessors evaluated samples using descriptive analysis. Besides, the yogurts were evaluated by 3 groups of 81 consumers using three rapid methodologies: check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions, projective mapping and polarized sensory positioning. The three rapid methodologies provided similar information on the main differences among samples. However, several differences can be highlighted. Sample configurations from CATA questions were the most similar to those provided by descriptive analysis, whereas projective mapping provided the least similar configurations. The three methodologies also differed in their ability to detect differences among samples due to formulation variables and the stability of sample configurations.

Attentional capture and importance of package attributes for consumers' perceived similarities and differences among products: A case study with breakfast cereal packages.

The present work studied attentional capture and importance of package attributes for consumers' perception of similarities and differences among products through a combination of eye-tracking and projective mapping. As a case study, fifty consumers performed a projective mapping task with ten breakfast cereal packages while wearing a mobile eye-tracker. The combination of mobile eye-tracking and projective mapping enabled a more comprehensive analysis of the importance of package attributes for consumer perception. Eye tracking allowed the identification of the most relevant package features for perceived similarity and differences among products and spotted attributes that were attended to but were not relevant, as well as package features that were relevant for categorization but were not largely attended to. Results suggest that studying attentional capture could contribute to better understanding attribute importance for consumer perception. Irrespectively of the saliency, most consumers looked at the same key information, mainly located on the front-of-pack. Few consumers read the nutritional label and ingredient list (a much lower proportion than in previous static eye tracker studies). Results suggested that mobile eye-tracking has a great potential for assessing consumers' evaluation of packages in ecological settings. However, several disadvantages and limitations of the technique should be taken into account.

Sensory acceptance and survival of probiotic bacteria in ice cream produced with different overrun levels.

The effect of different overrun levels on the sensory acceptance and survival of probiotic bacteria in ice cream was investigated. Vanilla ice creams supplemented with Lactobacillus acidophilus were processed with overruns of 45%, 60%, and 90%. Viable probiotic bacterial counts and sensory acceptance were assessed. All the ice creams presented a minimum count of 6 log CFU/g at the end of 60 d of frozen storage. However, higher overrun levels negatively influenced cell viability, being reported a decrease of 2 log CFU/g for the 90% overrun treatment. In addition, it was not reported an influence about acceptability with respect to appearance, aroma, and taste of the ice creams (P > 0.05). Overall, the results suggest that lower overrun levels should be adopted during the manufacture of ice cream in order to maintain its probiotic status through the shelf life.

Sensory Analysis: Relevance for Prebiotic, Probiotic, and Synbiotic Product Development.

Sensory analysis represents a decisive step during the various stages of food product development. For probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic foods, which have shown continuous and significant consumption in the functional food category, the choice of an appropriate technique allows obtaining relevant sensory information that contributes to consumer acceptance. This review focuses on the importance of sensory analytical techniques in prebiotic and probiotic food product development. Examples of the most known sensory methodologies applied to these important functional foods are presented, as well as some considerations about consumer attitudes that can influence acceptance of these products. Moreover, applications of such techniques on functional product evaluation are provided.

Avaliação físico-química, sensorial e instrumental de queijo minas frescal de leite de búfala, com diferentes teores de gordura / Physical-chemistry evaluation, sensory and instrumental of cheese from buffalo milk with different fat levels

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar as características físico-químicas, sensoriais e instrumentais de queijo Minas Frescal de leite de búfala elaborado com leites de diferentes teores de gordura. Os queijos foram elaborados a partir de leite de búfala com 21,5, 11,5 e 6 por cento de gordura. A análise físico-química indicou que, mesmo com a remoção parcial da gordura, os queijos mantiveram um valor nutricional adequado. A análise descritiva mostrou que houve diferença significativa em oito atributos dos 17 estabelecidos pela equipe sensorial. Os teores de gordura alteraram a cor e a maciez instrumentais dos queijos. Apesar das diferenças nas análises sensorial e instrumental, não houve diferença significativa na preferência dos provadores entre os queijos.