Consumer perception of ice cream and frozen desserts in the "better-for-you" category

Consumer Perception of Sweeteners in Yogurt

Consumers are interested in products with reduced sugar, a trend which has been attributed to consumers associating high-sugar foods with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure. The objective of this study was to evaluate consumer perception of sugar reduction in yogurt - both conceptually and for liking of actual products. An online survey (n = 1290) was conducted to evaluate consumer perception of sweeteners available in commercial yogurts. Participants who purchased yogurt at least once in the past 3 mo completed a series of exercises that involved demographics, agreement, Kano, and Maximum Difference (MaxDiff) scaling questions. Subsequently, vanilla 1% milkfat yogurts sweetened with sucrose were formulated to iso-sweet taste intensity with either stevia, allulose, a blend of sucrose and honey or a blend of sucrose, stevia and allulose using magnitude estimate scaling followed by paired comparison tests with consumers (n = 40). A consumer acceptance test (n = 229) was then conducted using the 5 vanilla yogurts. Half of the consumers (n = 115) were primed with the specific yogurt sweetener and the other half were not. Survey and acceptance test data were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. Conceptually, consumers preferred the claim "naturally sweetened" over a reduced sugar claim in yogurt (P < 0.05). Honey was preferred over other sweeteners, followed by agave nectar and cane sugar (P < 0.05). Allulose was the least preferred sweetener option conceptually (P < 0.05). Priming with sweetener type positively impacted consumer acceptance, regardless of sweetener (P < 0.05). When yogurts were tasted, yogurts sweetened with sucrose were the most preferred regardless of priming (P < 0.05). Yogurts sweetened with allulose or a blend of allulose, stevia, and sucrose received higher liking scores than yogurts with stevia (P < 0.05), suggesting that allulose can assist with sugar reduction in yogurt. Consumers are interested in healthy yogurts that are naturally sweetened, but flavor/taste remains the driving force for liking and purchase. The use of a natural non-nutritive sweetener that delivers the sensory experience of sucrose is ultimately more important than familiarity with the actual sweetener.

Physicochemical property characterization, amino acid profiling and sensory evaluation of plant-based ice cream incorporated with soy, pea and milk proteins

This study examined the effects of incorporating milk protein concentrate (MPC), pea or soy proteins isolates (PPI and SPI) on the physicochemical, sensorial properties, and amino acid composition of ice creams containing 7% protein, in comparison to dairy ice cream as a reference. As protein ingredients, PPI exhibited higher water and oil holding capacity but lower surface hydrophobicity than SPI and MPC. Viscosity of the mixes were proportional to the firmness of ice cream, and both were highest with use of PPI. MPC ice cream had most similar physical and sensory properties to reference. PPI and SPI ice cream mixes showed higher extent of fat coalescence than MPC and reference. PPI and SPI conferred structural stability to ice cream with lower melting rate and better shape retention, and ability to delay ice recrystallization during temperature flocculation as compared with SMP and MPC. Confocal laser scanning microscope images indicated that higher extent of protein aggregation and more air cells were found in PPI ice cream. Sensory and amino acid profile results revealed that PPI and SPI ice creams were inferior in taste, texture, and essential amino acids like methionine. This study offers insights for the development of high protein frozen desserts.

Consumer perception of Cheddar cheese color

The color of Cheddar cheese in the United States is influenced by many factors, primarily the amount of annatto added as a colorant. The US Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing its definition of the term "natural" on food labels, which may result in the use of colorants being restricted in natural cheeses. The objective of this study was to evaluate how consumers perceive Cheddar cheese color to better understand how changes to legislation surrounding colorants in natural Cheddar cheese may affect consumption. We were also interested in determining if a relationship exists between color and other perceived characteristics of Cheddar cheese. Two online surveys on Cheddar cheese color and flavor attributes (n = 1,226 and n = 1,183, respectively) were conducted, followed by a consumer acceptance test on 6 commercially available Cheddar cheeses (n = 196). Overall, consumers preferred light orange color in Cheddar cheese over dark orange or white Cheddar cheese, but segmentation was observed for Cheddar color preference. Light orange Cheddar and white Cheddar were perceived as approximately equal in terms of "naturalness." White and light orange Cheddars were perceived as more natural than dark orange Cheddars conceptually and in consumer acceptance testing. White Cheddar was considered most natural by 50.3% of n = 1,283 survey participants and 43.4% of n = 196 consumer acceptance test participants, whereas light orange Cheddar was perceived as most natural by 40.6% and 45.9% of these groups, respectively. A bimodal distribution was observed in both the online survey and in consumer acceptance testing for the naturalness of Cheddar cheese color, with a subset of consumers (31.4% of n = 1,183 survey participants and 30.6% of n = 196 consumer testing participants) indicating that white Cheddar was the least natural option. Consumers associated orange color in Cheddar cheese with a sharper flavor both in an online survey format and consumer acceptance testing.

Siraitia grosvenorii As a Homologue of Food and Medicine: A Review of Biological Activity, Mechanisms of Action, Synthetic Biology, and Applications in Future Food

Siraitia grosvenorii (SG), also known as Luo Han Guo or Monk fruit, boasts a significant history in food and medicine. This review delves into SG's historical role and varied applications in traditional Chinese culture, examining its phytochemical composition and the health benefits of its bioactive compounds. It further explores SG's biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic properties and elucidates the mechanisms behind these effects. The review also highlights recent synthetic biology advances in enhancing the production of SG's bioactive compounds, presenting new opportunities for broadening their availability. Ultimately, this review emphasizes SG's value in food and medicine, showcasing its historical and cultural importance, phytochemistry, biological functions, action mechanisms, and the role of synthetic biology in its sustainable use.

Erythritol: An In-Depth Discussion of Its Potential to Be a Beneficial Dietary Component

The sugar alcohol erythritol is a relatively new food ingredient. It is naturally occurring in plants, however, produced commercially by fermentation. It is also produced endogenously via the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). Consumers perceive erythritol as less healthy than sweeteners extracted from plants, including sucrose. This review evaluates that perspective by summarizing current literature regarding erythritol's safety, production, metabolism, and health effects. Dietary erythritol is 30% less sweet than sucrose, but contains negligible energy. Because it is almost fully absorbed and excreted in urine, it is better tolerated than other sugar alcohols. Evidence shows erythritol has potential as a beneficial replacement for sugar in healthy and diabetic subjects as it exerts no effects on glucose or insulin and induces gut hormone secretions that modulate satiety to promote weight loss. Long-term rodent studies show erythritol consumption lowers body weight or adiposity. However, observational studies indicate positive association between plasma erythritol and obesity and cardiometabolic disease. It is unlikely that dietary erythritol is mediating these associations, rather they reflect dysregulated PPP due to impaired glycemia or glucose-rich diet. However, long-term clinical trials investigating the effects of chronic erythritol consumption on body weight and risk for metabolic diseases are needed. Current evidence suggests these studies will document beneficial effects of dietary erythritol compared to caloric sugars and allay consumer misperceptions.

Does Allulose Appeal to Consumers? Results from a Discrete Choice Experiment in Germany

Reducing the sugar content in food is an important goal in many countries in order to counteract obesity and unhealthy eating. Currently, many consumers eat a number of foods with too much sugar content. However, mankind has an innate preference for sweet foods, and thus one strategy is to have food products which taste sweet but consist of a reduced calorie and sugar content. Allulose is a rare monosaccharide and is considered a safe ingredient in foods, for example in the US, Japan, Singapore, and Mexico, while in Europe, it is in the approval process as a novel food. Thus, it is relevant to find out how consumers perceive the different attributes of allulose in comparison to other sweeteners. Therefore, an online survey consisting of a choice experiment was conducted in Germany to find out consumer preferences of sweeteners. The survey data were analyzed using a mixed logit model. The results reveal that taste is the most important attribute for sweeteners, which explains about 40% of the choice. In the attribute level, a typical sugar taste is preferred. As allulose has a typical sugar taste, the likelihood that it appeals to consumers is high. The second most important attribute is the base product.