Serving vegetables first: A strategy to increase vegetable consumption in elementary school cafeterias.

Vegetable consumption in the United States is low despite the wealth of evidence that vegetables play an important role in reducing risk of various chronic diseases. Because eating patterns developed in childhood continue through adulthood, we need to form healthy eating habits in children. The objective of this study was to determine if offering vegetables before other meal components would increase the overall consumption of vegetables at school lunch. We served kindergarten through fifth-grade students a small portion (26-33 g) of a raw vegetable (red and yellow bell peppers) while they waited in line to receive the rest of their lunch meal. They then had the options to take more of the bell peppers, a different vegetable, or no vegetable from the lunch line. We measured the amount of each vegetable consumed by each child. Serving vegetables first greatly increased the number of students eating vegetables. On intervention days most of the vegetables consumed came from the vegetables-first portions. Total vegetable intake per student eating lunch was low because most students chose to not eat vegetables, but the intervention significantly increased this value. Serving vegetables first is a viable strategy to increase vegetable consumption in elementary schools. Long-term implementation of this strategy may have an important impact on healthy eating habits, vegetable consumption, and the health consequences of vegetable intake.

Relationships Among Rheological, Sensory Texture, and Swallowing Pressure Measurements of Hydrocolloid-Thickened Fluids.

The objective of this study was to examine the relationships among three categories of measurements (rheological, sensory texture, and swallowing pressure) from fluids thickened to two different viscosities with 15 different hydrocolloids. Fluids at viscosities of 300 and 1500 cP (at 30 s(-1)) were targeted because these are the viscosities corresponding to the barium standards used in radiographic dysphagia diagnosis. Within the low viscosity (nectar) fluids (300 cP), the sensory properties thickness, stickiness, adhesiveness, mouth coating, and number of swallows were highly positively correlated with each other and highly positively correlated with the flow behavior index, n value (an indicator of shear-thinning behavior). Within the higher viscosity (thin honey) fluids (1500 cP), the sensory textures of adhesiveness, stickiness, mouth coating, and number of swallows correlated positively with rheological measures of n value. Swallowing pressures measured in the anterior oral cavity correlated negatively with the consistency coefficient k [shear stress/(shear rate) (n) ]. Samples that were more shear thinning (lower n values, higher k values) were generally perceived as less thick, with less adhesive properties (stickiness, adhesiveness, mouthcoating, and number of swallows). This information can be useful for selecting thickeners for people with dysphagia. A desirable thickener for many dysphagic patients would be one that allowed for a safe swallow by being viscous enough to reduce airway penetration, yet pleasant to drink, having the minimal perceived thickness and mouthcoating associated with greater shear thinning.

Use of potassium chloride and flavor enhancers in low sodium Cheddar cheese.

We investigated use of potassium chloride (KCl) to maintain both the salty flavor and to replace the preservative effects of salt when reducing the sodium content in natural cheese. Because salt replacers can affect flavor because of inherent off-flavors, such as bitter and metallic, we examined the use of flavor enhancers for their ability to modulate some of these undesirable sensory effects. Stirred-curd Cheddar-style cheese was manufactured using 2 cheese-making procedures (different curd knife sizes and target salting titratable acidities), in duplicate. Curd was salted with sodium chloride (NaCl) or 60% reduced sodium blends of NaCl and KCl (2 different sources). Curd was also salted at a 60% reduced sodium rate with NaCl and KCl with added flavor enhancers. A hydrolyzed vegetable protein/yeast extract blend, a natural "potassium-blocking type" flavor, disodium inosinate, or disodium guanylate were each blended with the reduced sodium salt blend and added to curd at the salting step. The resulting blocks of cheese were aged for 5 mo and evaluated monthly for chemical, microbial, and sensory differences. At 5 mo of aging, we measured liking for the cheeses using a consumer panel. Overall, cheeses were well liked by the consumer panel, and the scores of reduced sodium cheese with 2 different KCl sources were not different from those of the full-sodium control. The addition of flavor enhancers to Cheddar curd had mixed results, with one improving the consumer flavor liking only slightly over KCl, and one (disodium inosinate) significantly reducing consumer flavor liking scores, presumably due to the amount of umami flavor it contributed. Potassium chloride replacement salts sourced from different manufacturers affected the chemical and flavor properties of cheese, and changes to pH and temperature targets may be necessary to yield cheese with the moisture and pH targets desired. The cheese-making procedure used also influenced flavors observed, which resulted in higher levels of brothy flavor in cheese made with smaller curd knives and a higher target salting titratable acidity. This effect resulted in lower consumer liking scores.

Manufacture of reduced-sodium Cheddar-style cheese with mineral salt replacers.

The use of mineral salt replacers to reduce the sodium content in cheese has been investigated as a method to maintain both the salty flavor and the preservative effects of salt. The majority of studies of sodium reduction have used mineral salt replacers at levels too low to produce equal water activity (a(w)) in the finished cheese compared with the full-sodium control. Higher a(w) can result in differences in cheese quality due to differences in the effective salt-to-moisture ratio. This creates differences in biochemical and microbial reactions during aging. We hypothesized that by targeting replacer concentrations to produce the same a(w) as full sodium cheese, changes in cheese quality would be minimized. Stirred-curd Cheddar-style cheese was manufactured and curd was salted with NaCl or naturally reduced sodium sea salt. Reduced-sodium cheeses were created by blends of NaCl or sea salt with KCl, modified KCl, MgCl2, or CaCl2 before pressing. Sodium levels in reduced-sodium cheeses ranged from 298 to 388 mg of sodium/100g, whereas the control full-sodium cheese had 665 mg/100g. At 1 wk of age, a(w) of reduced-sodium cheeses were not significantly different from control, which had an a(w) of 0.96. The pH values of all reduced-sodium cheeses, excluding the treatment that combined sea salt and MgCl2, were lower than those of full-sodium cheese, indicating that the starter culture was possibly less inhibited at the salting step by the replacers than by NaCl. Instrumental hardness values of the treatments with sea salt were higher than in cheeses containing NaCl, with the exception of the NaCl/CaCl2 treatment, which was the hardest. Treatments with MgCl2 and modified KCl were generally less hard than other treatments. In-hand and first-bite firmness values correlated with the instrumental texture profile analysis results. Both CaCl2 and MgCl2 produced considerable off-flavors in the cheese (bitter, metallic, unclean, and soapy), as measured by descriptive sensory analysis with a trained panel. Bitterness ratings for cheese with KCl and modified KCl were not significantly different from the full-sodium control. Potassium chloride can be used successfully to achieve large reductions in sodium when replacing a portion of the NaCl in Cheddar cheese.

Sensory characteristics and cross-cultural consumer acceptability of Bulgogi (Korean traditional barbecued beef).

UNLABELLED: Bulgogi (Korean traditional barbecued beef) is the most well-known Korean food to foreigners. There are, however, few studies on its sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability. This study was performed to identify the sensory attributes of Bulgogi samples prepared with different formulation and to compare the consumer acceptability in Korea and the United States. Bulgogi samples were prepared with varying levels of sugar and soy sauce with/without garlic or sesame oil. Descriptive analysis was conducted by 8 trained panelists. In consumer tests, 42 consumers in Seoul, Korea, 53 consumers in Davis (Calif., U.S.A.), and 39 consumers in St. Paul (Minn., U.S.A.) participated. Higher levels of sugar and soy sauce (SSS) significantly increased sweetness, saltiness, MSG taste, and soy sauce odor/flavor compared to the control made with the standard formula (CON). Elimination of sesame oil (ESO) significantly decreased sesame oil odor/flavor and oiliness, but increased green onion flavor. Elimination of garlic (EGC) significantly increased grilled beef odor/flavor, sesame oil odor/flavor, and oiliness, but decreased intensities of all the other attributes except bitterness. The consumers in Korea and the United States rated their overall liking for all samples similarly, preferring SSS to CON, EGC, and ESO. However Korean consumers seemed to detect the differences caused by formulation changes better than the U.S. consumers and these perceived differences seemed to impact the hedonic and the just-about-right ratings. Increase in soy sauce and sugar increased both Korean and the U.S. consumers' acceptability of Bulgogi, whereas eliminating garlic did not influence the consumer acceptability despite of its significant impact on sensory attributes. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: The food industry is increasingly interested in ethnic foods that satisfy sophisticated appetite of today's consumers. Korean cuisine is recently gaining popularity and perceived as "adventurous and spicy," appealing to researchers and marketers in the food industry worldwide. However, it is not easy to develop a new product based on ethnic cuisine because nonsensory factors, such as food neophobia and openness to new culture, can evoke adverse responses from the consumers. A systematic sensory approach can guide the product development by identifying both sensory and nonsensory factors affecting consumer acceptability. This study investigated sensory attributes of Bulgogi (Korean traditional barbecued beef), one of the most famous Korean foods, and compared consumer acceptability between Korea and the United States. The outcomes of this study, such as flavor profiles, consumer responses, evaluation procedure, and approaches taken for cross-cultural comparison, will provide the food industries with valuable information that will help to develop effective strategies for commercializing ethnic foods including recipe development for Bulgogi marinades.

Consumer liking of refined and whole wheat breads.

Preference for refined bread is often cited as a reason for the relatively low consumption of whole wheat bread; only a few studies, however, have examined consumer preferences between refined and whole wheat breads, and the results of these studies are inconclusive. Our objective was to determine if refined wheat bread is preferred to whole wheat bread. We hypothesized that people would prefer refined wheat bread. We conducted a taste test with 89 people. They rated their liking of 9 different breads chosen to represent several comparisons between equivalent refined and whole wheat breads. The participants also rated the intensity of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) and completed a questionnaire about their bread preferences and purchasing habits. We classified the participants by their bread preference and their PROP taster status, and then examined the liking patterns of these subgroups. People preferred refined bread to whole wheat bread when both were made using equivalent ingredients and procedures. They liked the commercial samples of refined and whole wheat breads equally well. When people were classified by their bread preference, those who preferred refined bread liked the refined bread better in all comparisons. PROP nontasters liked all refined and whole wheat breads equally. Sensory preferences are a barrier to whole wheat bread consumption, but ingredient or processing modifications can improve liking of whole wheat bread to the level of refined bread.

Simulated microgravity [bed rest] has little influence on taste, odor or trigeminal sensitivity.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that astronauts' perceptions of foods in space flight may differ from their perceptions of the same foods on Earth. Fluid shifts toward the head experienced in space may alter the astronauts' sensitivity to odors and tastes, producing altered perceptions. Our objective was to determine whether head-down bed rest, which produces similar fluid shifts, would produce changes in sensitivity to taste, odor or trigeminal sensations. Six subjects were rested three times prior to bed rest, three times during bed rest and two times after bed rest to determine their threshold sensitivity to the odors isoamylbutyrate and menthone, the tastants sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid, quinine and monosodium glutamate, and to capsaicin. Thresholds were measured using a modified staircase procedure. Self-reported congestion was also recorded at each test time. Thresholds for monosodium glutamate where slightly higher during bed rest. None of the other thresholds were altered by bed rest.

Flavor enhancement of reduced fat cheddar cheese using an integrated culturing system.

Mild cheese flavor in reduced fat Cheddar cheese was enhanced by using an integrated starter culture system. Three cultures, Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris SK11, L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis JVI, and Lactobacillus casei 7A, were carefully selected to obtain a nonbitter, mildly acid, buttery flavored cheese. Cheeses were produced from all possible combinations of these cultures with the constraint that L. lactis subsp. cremoris SK11 was used as the primary acid-producing culture. Cheeses made with SK11 were compared to cheeses produced using an L. lactis subsp. cremoris commercial starter culture. Cheeses were ripened for 150 days and periodically sampled for chemical, microbiological, and sensory analysis. Cheeses produced with L. lactis subsp. cremorisSK11 had substantially lower bitterness intensity than the cheeses produced with commercial starter culture. L. lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis JVI significantly increased diacetylacetoin and acetate concentrations. Sensory results indicate that these cheeses had increased buttery (diacetyl) flavor.

Long-term acceptability of limited diets.

A food with long-term acceptability can be eaten one or more times a day without the consumer becoming "tired" of eating it. Few foods are eaten as often as once a day, but those that are can give us some clues about the attributes associated with long-term acceptability. Studies by the armed forces in the late 1950s showed that most foods decreased in liking when repeatedly consumed and that the rate of decline depended on the specific food. Current techniques for measuring the liking of foods (typically using a hedonic category scale) do not necessarily indicate long-term acceptability. Our data on repeated consumption of two versions of tea suggests that taste test measurements can be quite misleading. A relatively newer measurement, sensory-specific satiety, may provide a rapid method for measuring long-term acceptability.

Breed differences in boar taint: relationship between tissue levels boar taint compounds and sensory analysis of taint.

A total of 228 intact male pigs form Duroc, Hampshire, Landrace, and Yorkshire breeds were used in the experiment. Samples of salivary gland and backfat were collected at slaughter for colorimetric assay of salivary and fat 16-androstene levels and fat skatole levels. Fat levels also were tested by a sensory panel using an R-index technique for detecting the presence of boar taint. The proportion of tainted carcasses determined by the sensory panel was 5.0% for androstenone and 11.4% for skatole, with a combined total of 15.0% tainted from either source. Sensory analysis of taint showed a lower proportion (P < .05) of tainted carcasses in Hampshire, with no difference in taint across the other three breeds. Analysis of taint compounds indicated that overall 14.5% of pigs had salivary gland 16-androstene levels and 20.9% had fat 16-androstene levels above acceptable limits. There was a higher (P < .05) proportion of Duroc pigs above the threshold levels for 16-androstenes in both salivary gland and fat. Landrace pigs had the lowest (P < .05) average tissue concentrations of steroids and skatole. Across breeds, only 1.8% of pigs had fat skatole concentrations above .25 ppm, which has been suggested as threshold levels of skatole for taint. The canonical correlation coefficient between fat compound levels and the R-indices of fat 16-androstenes and skatole was .40 (P < .001). Our results indicate breed differences in tissue levels of taint compounds and in taint assessed by a sensory panel. Levels of 16-androstene steroids were highly associated with taint, but more pigs had measured levels above the threshold than those identified as tainted by sensory analysis. Levels of fat skatole were low overall and did not account for all the pigs judged as tainted from skatole by sensory analysis.

Higher-protein foods produce greater sensory-specific satiety.

The objectives of this study were to determine if high-protein versions of the same food systems show more sensory-specific satiety than lower-protein versions, and to determine the effect of these protein differences on hunger levels following a meal. Subjects ate a high-protein and a low-protein version of a food system (either strawberry yogurt or a sandwich) as test meals. The high-protein strawberry yogurt test meal consisted of a serving of strawberry yogurt that contained whey protein isolate; the low-protein yogurt test meal consisted of a close-to-commercial strawberry yogurt. The high-protein sandwich meal consisted of a ham sandwich; the low-protein sandwich meal consisted of a bacon sandwich. Subjects tasted small portions of a set of foods (which included a sample of the test meal), and rated their liking of these foods before and after eating a test meal. Sensory-specific satiety occurred for all test meals. The decreases in liking when the high-protein versions of the test meals were eaten were significantly greater than the decreases in liking for the paired low-protein test meals. Higher-protein versions of the test meals also decreased hunger more than the lower-protein versions.

Effects of flavor and macronutrient composition of food servings on liking, hunger and subsequent intake.

The effects of consuming foods with different macronutrient compositions and flavors on hedonic changes and development of satiety were investigated. Subjects rated their hunger and liking of a set of foods (rating set) before and after eating a serving (preload) of one of the foods in the rating set. The liking of the preload foods dropped more than the liking of the uneaten foods. Foods having the same flavor as the preload generally dropped more in liking than foods having similar macronutrients. The drops in liking increased with the caloric content of the preload but were unrelated to specific macronutrients. Less weight and calories of food were eaten after the high calorie preloads. Eating the high protein or the high-carbohydrate preload decreased hunger more than eating the high-fat food. Eating a high-protein preload decreased the weight of food eaten more than eating a high-fat or a high-carbohydrate preload and decreased total caloric intake more than eating a high-fat preload. However, macronutrient intake was not differentially affected by the macronutrient composition of a preload. Sensory-specific satiety appears to be more related to the sensory characteristics of a food than to the macronutrient composition of a food.

Factors influencing sensory-specific satiety.

In the first part of this study, subjects tasted small portions of a set of foods (rating set) and rated their liking of these foods before and after eating a serving of one of the foods (test meal). These foods were chosen to vary in both macronutrient composition and sensory qualities. Measurements of hunger were taken before and after the test meal. The amount of sensory-specific satiety produced by a test meal differed depending on the food eaten. There was a trend for high-protein foods, which were also the least-liked foods, to decrease more in liking than low-protein foods. Buttered rolls and Coke, when eaten as test meals, dropped the least in liking. Initial liking and the variety of sensory qualities within a food were investigated as potential factors which could influence sensory-specific satiety. Subjects tasted and rated their liking of the test meals, which varied in the level of initial liking and the level of variety of sensory qualities within a food, before and after eating. There was a non-significant trend for the less-liked test meals to drop more in liking than the well-liked test meals. There was also a slight trend for the low-variety test meals to drop slightly more in liking than the intermediate and high-variety test meals.

Food preferences of patients with cancer.

Cancer patients who experience food aversions generally rated foods less pleasant than healthy controls or cancer patients with no food aversions. Most high protein foods, cereal products, and sweet foods were generally less palatable to patients with food aversions. Most fruits, vegetables, and cultured dairy products were equally palatable to all three subject groups. Although the cause of these food aversions is not understood, they do not appear to be a generalized response to all foods.

Influence of food odors on food aversions and preferences in patients with cancer.

One hundred thirty-three patients with cancer and 50 healthy controls judged the pleasantness of 10 common food odors and completed questionnaires on food likes or dislikes, recent smell or taste changes, development of food aversions, weight loss, decreased appetite, and early satiety. Chocolate, pork, roast beef, and chicken odors were significantly less pleasant for patients with food aversions (PA) than for controls. Ham, pork, and roast beef odors were significantly less pleasant for PA than for patients without food aversions (PNA). More PA than controls or PNA reported recent smell and taste changes for most of the 10 foods in the sample set. Roast beef was the only food on the questionnaire rated significantly less pleasant by PA than controls or PNA. There were no significant correlations between the odor hedonic scores and the questionnaire's hedonic scores for any of the 10 foods. More PA than PNA had weight loss, decreased appetite, and early satiety. Patients on chemotherapy did not have a significantly greater incidence of aversions, weight loss, decreased appetite, or early satiety than patients not receiving chemotherapy. The type of cancer appeared to have no relation to the development of food aversions.