What’s (in) a real smoothie. A division of linguistic labour in consumers’ acceptance of name–product combinations?

Smoothies Marketed in Spain: Are They Complying with Labeling Legislation?

There is no legal definition of a smoothie, so the European legislation applicable to its labeling is that of fruit juice. The smoothie market has grown in recent years, as it can include a wide variety of ingredients: fruits, fruit purees, honey, milk and vegetable milks, vegetables, herbs, cereals, cereal flours, seaweed, and crushed ice. In this study, 57 smoothies were reviewed. All of them were purchased in supermarkets and classified into eight types according to the main ingredients. Fifteen legal statements/items were reviewed on the pack labels: eleven mandatory and three optional. Moreover, nutrition labels, nutritional claims, images, marks, and other symbols were also reviewed. Only 22.8% of the samples complied with EU and Spanish labeling legislation. More incorrectness was related to the name of the food and the fruits included as main ingredients; other errors related to the allergy/intolerance statements, and some nutritional claims concerning vitamin C were also detected to a lesser extent. General advice is provided for consumers to interpret smoothie labels correctly. Lawmakers should amend legislation to accept the term "smoothie" as a legal name.

How a Spanish Group of Millennial Generation Perceives the Commercial Novel Smoothies?

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) constantly emphasize the importance of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption; these natural products help in the prevention of major diseases. Smoothies are a simple and convenient way of doing so; thus, their demand is constantly growing and their market is becoming important for the food industry. Therefore, the objective of this research was to determine Millennial consumer opinion towards novel fruit- and vegetable-smoothies available on the retail market. Napping^®, descriptive sensory analysis, and consumer studies were conducted. Napping^® results group samples into four clusters of smoothies; the main grouping factor was the type of fruit and the percentage of vegetables. Penalty analysis showed that smoothies need improvement mainly dealing with sweetness, bitterness, and vegetable flavors. Millennial consumers formed a homogeneous sensory group in which the overall liking was negatively correlated with the level of sweetness, and earthy, carrot, beetroot, and pear flavors. The key liking drivers were sourness and notes of mango, banana, and peach flavors. This research is a new insight into the perception of smoothies, provides comprehensive knowledge for the food industry, and can guide the design of new healthy smoothies.

Phytochemical composition of smoothies combining pomegranate juice (Punica granatum L) and Mediterranean minor crop purées (Ficus carica, Cydonia oblonga, and Ziziphus jujube)

BACKGROUND

Daily intake of fruits and vegetables as suggested by the World Health Organization is lower than the recommended dietary intake (RDI). A good option to increase the intake of fruit and vegetables is the consumption of smoothies. This work evaluated the effect of adding fig, jujube or quince purée to pomegranate juice (cultivars 'Wonderful' and 'Mollar de Elche') in preparing smoothies at two ratios of purée:juice (40:60 and 60:40) on the composition of minerals, sugars, organic acids, vitamin C, antioxidant activity and polyphenols.

RESULTS

Smoothies composition was mainly affected by the addition of the fruit purée. Twenty-eight polyphenolic compounds were found in the pomegranate smoothies (quadrupole time-of-flight liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry). The highest total content of polyphenolic compounds (ultra-performance liquid chromatography with photodiode array and fluorescence detection) was found in smoothies with quince purée, 501 mg 100 g^-1 fresh weight (FW), followed by jujube and figs, with 374 and 320 mg 100 g^-1 FW, respectively. Fig smoothies were rich in anthocyanins, while the jujube ones had high content of flavonols and vitamin C; finally, the quince smoothies were rich in hydroxycinnamic acids.

CONCLUSION

A positive effect of the addition of minor crops (fig, jujube and quince) was observed on the nutritional and functionality of the novel pomegranate smoothies. Moreover, the addition of jujube contributed to an enrichment of the final smoothies in vitamin C and organic acids, while an increase of pectin content was found in fig and quince pomegranate based smoothies. Therefore, the blend of minor Mediterranean crop purées with pomegranate juice to produce smoothies is a good strategy to promote the consumption of these healthy but underutilized fruits. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

In search of a consumer-focused food classification system. An experimental heuristic approach to differentiate degrees of quality

The present paper focuses on the problems that arise in food classification systems (FCSs), especially when the food product type has different levels or grades of quality. Despite the principal function of these systems being to assist the consumer (to inform, clarify and facilitate choice and purchase), they frequently have the opposite effect. Thus, the main aim of the present research involves providing orientations for the design of effective food classification systems. To address this objective, considering the context of food product consumption (related to heuristic processing), we conducted an experimental study with 720 participants. We analysed the usefulness of heuristic elements by a factorial 2 (category length: short and long) × 3 (visual signs: colours, numbers and images) design in relation to recall and recognition activities. The results showed that the elements used to make the classification more effective for consumers vary depending on whether the user seeks to prioritize the recall or the recognition of product categories. Thus, long categories with images significantly improve recognition, and short categories with colours improve recall. A series of recommendations are provided that can help to enhance FCSs and to make them more intuitive and easier to understand for consumers. Implications with regard to theory and practice are discussed.

Methodological considerations in a pilot study on the effects of a berry enriched smoothie on children's performance in school

Berries contain bioactive compounds that may affect children’s cognitive function positively, while hunger and thirst during lessons before lunch affect academic performance negatively. This pilot study addresses methodological challenges in studying if a berry smoothie, offered to schoolchildren as a mid-morning beverage, affects academic performance.

The objective was to investigate if a cross-over design can be used to study these effects in a school setting.

Therefore, in order to investigate assay sensitivity, 236 Swedish children aged 10–12 years were administered either a berry smoothie (active) or a fruit-based control beverage after their mid-morning break. Both beverages provided 5% of child daily energy intake. In total, 91% of participants completed the study. Academic performance was assessed using the d2 test of attention. Statistical analyses were performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test in StatXact v 10.3.

The results showed that the children consumed less of the active berry smoothie than the control (154 g vs. 246 g). Both beverages increased attention span and concentration significantly (p = 0.000). However, as there was no significant difference (p = 0.938) in the magnitude of this effect between the active and control beverages, the assay sensitivity of the study design was not proven. The effect of the beverages on academic performance was attributed the supplementation of water and energy.

Despite careful design, the active smoothie was less accepted than the control. This could be explained by un-familiar sensory characteristics and peer influence, stressing the importance of sensory similarity and challenges to perform a study in school settings. The employed cross-over design did not reveal any effects of bioactive compound consumption on academic performance. In future studies, the experimental set up should be modified or replaced by e.g. the parallel study design, in order to provide conclusive results.

Do natural pictures mean natural tastes? Assessing visual semantics experimentally

A widespread assumption in Danish consumer law is that if the package of a food product carries a picture of a potentially taste-giving ingredient (say, a strawberry), then consumers will expect the corresponding taste to stem primarily from that ingredient rather than from artificial flavouring. However, this is not expected to be the case if the packaging carries only a verbal indication of the potential ingredient (say, the word