Development of an initial lexicon for and impact of forms (cube, liquid, powder) on chicken stock and comparison to consumer acceptance

Sodium Reduction in Bouillon: Targeting a Food Staple to Reduce Hypertension in Sub-saharan Africa

Bouillon cubes are a staple ingredient used in Sub-saharan African countries providing flavor enhancement to savory foods. Bouillon has been identified as a vehicle for fortification to overcome micronutrient deficiencies in Sub-saharan Africa. However, bouillon has a high sodium content (and in addition with other foods) contributes to dietary sodium intake above recommended guidelines. High dietary sodium intake is a key risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Africa has the highest rates of hypertension and CVD globally with nearly half the adult population above 25 years affected. This review presents current state of research on sodium reduction strategies in bouillon. The key challenge is to reduce sodium levels while maintaining optimal flavor at the lowest possible production cost to ensure bouillon continues to be affordable in Sub-saharan Africa. To produce lower sodium bouillon with acceptable flavor at low cost will likely involve multiple sodium reduction strategies; direct reduction in sodium, sodium replacement and saltiness boosting flavor technologies. Efforts to reduce the sodium content of bouillon in Sub-saharan Africa is a worthwhile strategy to: (i) lower the overall sodium consumption across the population, and (ii) deliver population-wide health benefits in a region with high rates of hypertension and CVD.

Sensory Shelf Life Estimation of Novel Fortified Blended Foods Under Accelerated and Real-Time Storage Conditions

Fortified blended foods (FBFs), a staple of food aid around the world, must maintain desirable characteristics for long periods of storage. This study estimated the shelf life of FBFs, including a traditional FBF (nonextruded corn soy blend plus [CSB+]) and 13 novel extrusion cooked FBFs. All products were stored under accelerated and real-time environments (real time = 30 °C and 65% relative humidity [RH], accelerated = 50 °C and 70% RH based on a Q₁₀ factor of 2). Products were made into porridges and evaluated by a descriptive sensory panel for five times in each shelf life condition. Rancid and painty sensory characteristics were key determining factors for shelf life. Real-time (RT) and accelerated shelf life (ASL) testing agreed that most novel extrusion cooked FBFs had shelf lives of at least 2 years, which is comparable to current CSB+. However, ASL testing failed to predict RT shelf life of two novel FBFs, which were estimated by RT testing to have a 2+ year shelf life. The results indicated that novel extrusion cooked FBFs have high potential for use as alternative complementary food and maintain quality for long storage periods. It is essential to conduct RT testing parallel with ASLT testing, especially for new products, to obtain a more precise estimation of products' shelf life. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: These findings show that extrusion cooked novel fortified blended foods made with extrusion generally can last up to or exceeding 24 months at ambient conditions as measured either real-time or under accelerated conditions. This is plenty of time for storage, shipping, distribution, and home storage of such products by recipients. Thus, there should be no concerns about shelf life of these products for international distribution.

Influence of Monosodium Glutamate and Its Substitutes on Sensory Characteristics and Consumer Perceptions of Chicken Soup

Soup manufacturers are removing monosodium glutamate (MSG) to meet consumer demand for natural ingredients. This research investigated the influence of MSG and its substitutes (yeast extract: YE; mushroom concentrate: MC; tomato concentrate: TC) on clear chicken soup with 0.4% sodium chloride (salt) by comparing sensory attributes and consumer acceptability among each other, and to a chicken soup sample containing 0.5% salt (Salt 0.5%). The soup with 0.4% salt without enhancers was designated as the control. Corresponding list of ingredients was also presented to consumers to study the effects on consumer expectations about chicken soup products. Our results showed that MSG and its substitutes significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced the sensory properties of chicken soup. These flavor enhancers also achieved statistically same or stronger improvement in overall flavor, meaty flavor, chicken flavor and umami taste when compared to Salt 0.5% sample. Consumers significantly preferred MSG 0.1%, YE 0.025%, and Salt 0.5% samples than others. Compared to MC and TC samples, less consumers perceived MSG and YE samples as “free of artificial” and “natural” with lower consumption interest. Claims about artificial/natural ingredients were attractive selling points for chicken soups, but good sensory appealing was the most important attribute linearly affecting consumer satisfactions.

The Importance of Sensory Lexicons for Research and Development of Food Products

A lexicon is a set of standardized vocabularies developed by highly trained panelists for describing a wide array of sensory attributes present in a product. A number of lexicons have been developed to document and describe sensory perception of a variety of food categories.The current review provides examples of recently developed sensory lexicons for fruits and vegetables; grains and nuts; beverages; bakery, dairy, soy and meat products; and foods for animals. Applications of sensory lexicons as an effective communication tool and a guidance tool for new product development processes, quality control, product improvement, measuring changes during product shelf life, and breeding new plant cultivars are also discussed and demonstrated through research in the field.

Novel Fortified Blended Foods: Preference Testing with Infants and Young Children in Tanzania and Descriptive Sensory Analysis

The preference of porridge made from extruded fortified blended foods (FBFs) compared to a current nonextruded product (corn soy blend plus [CSB+]) among infants and young children was studied in Mwanza region, Tanzania. Five extruded, fortified blends were chosen as novel FBFs in this study: (i) corn soy blend 14 (CSB14), (ii) white sorghumFontanelle 4525 soy blend (SSB), (iii) white sorghumFontanelle 4525 cowpea blend (WSC1), (iv) white sorghum738Y cowpea blend (WSC2), and (v) red sorghum217X Burgundy cowpea blend (RSC). Paired preference testing between CSB+ and each novel FBF was conducted using approximately 600 children for each pair. Results showed that infants and young children prefer CSB14 and SSB over CSB+. Children did not show a preference between CSB+ and any of the 3 sorghum cowpea blends (WSC1, WSC2, and RSC) probably because of a distinct beany flavor from cowpea that they were not familiar with. This study indicated that novel FBFs have potential to be used successfully as supplementary food with higher or comparable preference compared to FBFs currently used in food aid programs.

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

Successful novel fortified blended foods (FBFs) can be developed with appropriate nutrition and sensory appeal from indigenous and alternative food sources. Development of such foods requires an understanding not only of the nutritional composition, but also how ingredients impact sensory properties and how they can influence preferences. From this research, novel FBFs from sorghum and cowpea were shown to be equally or preferentially preferred and should be successful. Such information is important for creating new standards and alternative formulations for FBFs.

Sensory Characteristics of Combinations of Phenolic Compounds Potentially Associated with Smoked Aroma in Foods

The sensory characteristics of phenolic compounds combinations were evaluated. A highly trained descriptive panel evaluated combinations of chemicals (two chemicals at a time) containing either one smoky aroma and one non-smoky aroma chemical compound, two smoky aroma chemicals, or two non-smoky aroma chemicals. The non-smoky compounds had been associated with smoke aroma in other studies, but were not found to be smoky when tested individually. Smoked flavor characteristics and intensities were changed significantly when two phenolic compounds were combined. Non-smoky phenolic compounds often contributed the smoked flavor when combined with one smoky phenolic compound or another non-smoky phenolic compound. It is necessary to understand the sensory characteristics of compound combinations as well as individual compounds.