Liking and Description of Pasta Sauces with Varying Mealworm Content.

Entomophagy is directly connected with culture, explaining why it is commonly rejected in Western countries. Due to increased meat consumption in recent years with its associated negative impacts on health and sustainability, the development of products based on alternative protein sources has become urgent. The larval form of Tenebrio molitor (mealworm) has the potential to substitute meat as it requires less resources and produces less emissions compared to other forms of meat production. Therefore, in this project we have aimed to develop pasta sauces with differing mealworm contents based on a common meat sauce and to test the acceptance with 91 consumers in Austria. Three sauces (100% mealworm, 50% mealworm and 50% meat, 100% meat) were developed and tested using a 9-point hedonic scale for acceptance, and the CATA (Check-All-That-Apply) method was integrated to also receive descriptive information. The analysis of the liking data revealed that the liking for the hybrid sauce with meat and mealworm content was comparable to the meat sauce (6.9 ± 1.8. vs. 6.5 ± 1.8, p > 0.05). Less liked was the sauce with the highest mealworm content (5.7 ± 1.8, p < 0.05). The CATA analysis demonstrated the strongest positive effects on the mean in terms of how much the products were liked for the attribute "fleshy" (0.8). On the other hand, the attributes "brownish" (-0.9) or "mushy" (-1.0) had the strongest negative effects on the mean of the liking of products. We have seen that meat cannot be substituted by mealworm immediately and completely. The results suggest a stepwise substitution and the further adaptation of products regarding the (negative and positive effecting) attributes to increase consumer acceptance.

Distinct maternal amino acids and oxylipins predict infant fat mass and fat-free mass indices.

Interested in maternal determinants of infant fat mass index (FMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI), considered as predictors for later development of obesity, we analysed amino acids (AA) and oxylipins in maternal serum and breast milk (BM). FMI and FFMI were calculated in 47 term infants aged 4 months (T4). Serum AA were analysed in pregnancy (T1, T2) and 6-8 weeks postpartum (T3). At T3, AA and oxylipins were analysed in BM. Biomarker-index-associations were identified by regression analysis. Infant FMI (4.1 ± 1.31 kg/m2; MW ± SD) was predicted by T2 proline (R2 adj.: 7.6%, p = .036) and T3 BM 11-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic-acid (11-HETE) and 13-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic-acid (13-HDHA; together:35.5% R2 adj., p < .001). Maternal peripartum antibiotics (AB) emerged as confounders (+AB: 23.5% higher FMI; p = .025). Infant FFMI (12.1 ± 1.19 kg/m2; MW ± SD) was predicted by histidine (R2 adj.: 14.5%, p < .001) and 17-HDHA (BM, R2 adj.:19.3%, p < .001), determined at T3. Confirmed in a larger cohort, the parameters could elucidate connections between maternal metabolic status, nutrition, and infant body development.