Online consumer testing beyond central location tests: A case study for brewed coffee.

Due to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, conducting sensory evaluations requiring direct interactions became challenging. In response, researchers have been motivated to devise non-face-to-face testing methods as alternatives. This study aimed to compare two non-face-to-face home-use tests (HUT) with the traditional face-to-face central location test (CLT). Both HUTs involved online recruitment and sample delivery to participants' homes. One HUT provided a written protocol with no direct interaction (contactless HUT; C-HUT), whereas the other included an online meeting with a researcher for live guidance (online HUT; O-HUT). Four coffee samples were evaluated on the basis of liking and sensory and emotional attributes. The comparison between CLT and O-HUT showed RV coefficients of 0.92, 0.93, and 0.98 (P < 0.05) for liking and sensory and emotional attributes, respectively. In addition, based on the RV coefficient, the CLT results showed a significantly greater similarity to those of O-HUT compared to those of C-HUT. The O-HUT also outperformed the C-HUT in its ability to significantly discriminate between samples. Hence, real-time interactions between researchers and participants, as facilitated by O-HUT, may be more suitable in certain scenarios compared to C-HUT, which relies solely on a written protocol. Overall, these findings suggest that C-HUT and O-HUT are suitable methods for collecting sensory data and overcoming geographic and face-to-face contact limitations, providing greater flexibility, and reducing the time and cost associated with traditional sensory evaluations.

Consumer Acceptance of Texture-Modified Mackerel Stew Products in Older Adults.

Along with concerns regarding societal aging, the dietary requirements of older adults have become a priority. Older adults in Korea experience difficulties consuming animal protein sources as they age. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a senior-friendly food product using mackerel. Accordingly, carbohydrates and proteins were added to the brine solution before saturated vapor treatment. Calcium lactate and poly-gamma-glutamic acid were added to the sauce, and when compared to four commercial products (GT_R, GT_K, PC_K, and AC_G) in an acceptance test, the product was found to exhibit the highest overall liking score (p < 0.001). Higher flavor-liking and familiarity ratings were found to increase purchase intention, while higher flavor-liking, overall-liking, and familiarity ratings increased recommendation intention. Those in mid-to-late adulthood preferred the GT_R and PC_K samples, whereas the AC_G sample was preferred by those in very late adulthood. AC_G sample analysis suggested that those in the very late adulthood group had a relatively higher acceptance of spiciness. In this study, a calcium-added mackerel stew product was manufactured, meeting the standards for senior-friendly food in Korea. It will serve as a baseline for further research on fish- and mackerel-based foods for older adults, which is in its early stages.

Robot versus human barista: Comparison of volatile compounds and consumers' acceptance, sensory profile, and emotional response of brewed coffee.

The increasing trend of integrating robots into the food industry has sparked debates regarding their potential influence on consumer attitudes toward food technology. This study investigated volatile compound profiles via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), consumer acceptability, sensory profiling, and emotional responses of consumers toward coffee samples brewed by robot and human baristas. Moreover, the effect of the robot experience on food technology neophobia (FTN) was investigated. The principal component analysis of the volatile compound profiles revealed that the samples by the robot barista exhibited a higher degree of similarity compared to those prepared by the human barista. The range of relative standard deviations of volatile compounds from the robot barista brewed coffee was 1.4-83.1% and the variation was smaller than that of the human barista, which was 5.0-118.3%. Participants had a significant decrease in FTN scores after evaluating the robot-brewed coffee (p < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in FTN scores before and after evaluating the coffee brewed by the human barista (p > 0.05). Sensory evaluation studies revealed no significant differences in acceptability ratings and purchase intentions between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, emotional responses to the coffee samples significantly varied, with the robot-brewed coffee inducing more dynamic and positive emotions and the human-brewed coffee inducing more static and positive emotions (p < 0.05). Overall, this study provides valuable insights into consumer attitudes toward food robot service to humans and indicates that consumer's experience with food robots may significantly reduce FTN (p < 0.001).

Early childhood eating behaviors associated with risk of overweight and its socio-ecological determinants in Korean preschool children.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to identify preschool children's eating behaviors associated with early childhood obesity and its multi-level, socio-ecological determinants. SUBJECTS/METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 364 mothers of preschool children aged 3-5 years, these children's healthy eating behaviors were assessed using a validated preschool nutrition quotient (NQ-P) questionnaire. The children's overweight or obesity statuses were determined based on body mass index percentiles from the 2017 Korean National Growth Chart. The associations between the NQ-P score and risk of overweight or obesity were examined using multivariable logistic regression. The associations of individual, maternal, physical, and media environmental factors with the NQ-P score were also examined using multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: Preschool children with greater NQ-P scores were at a significantly lower risk of overweight or obesity (P < 0.01). The NQ-P score had a significantly positive association with maternal body mass index and an inverse association with household income (all P < 0.05). Maternal parenting and feeding practices exhibited associations with the NQ-P score. Positive associations were observed with "warm," "structured," and "autonomy-supportive" parenting as well as monitoring feeding practices (all P < 0.05). In addition, the NQ-P score had a significantly positive association with the childcare center's anti-obesogenic environment, such as the provision of nutritional and physical-activity support and vicinity of the built food environment to the home, including access to good-quality food, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat foods (all P < 0.05). Regarding media environments, the NQ-P score demonstrated more significant associations with viewing and eating and/or cooking content displayed on online video platforms (all P < 0.05) than with that on television. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings confirm the significance of healthy eating behaviors in early-childhood-obesity prevention and underscore the importance of multilevel maternal, physical, and media environmental interventions that effectively guide eating behaviors in preschool children.

Consumer testing away from a sensory facility: Application of home-use test and no-contact home-use test.

COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions for approximately three years have heavily influenced sensory evaluations. People have become accustomed to working remotely and communicating online. This has led to opportunities in sensory testing paired with logistics systems and information technologies, resulting in a wide application of the home-use test (HUT), wherein panelists evaluate samples from their homes or other off-site locations. This study aimed to compare three sensory evaluation conditions: a central location test (CLT, n = 104), a HUT (n = 120), and a no-contact HUT (N-HUT, n = 111). We recruited participants via the local community website, delivered samples using a delivery service, and conducted sensory testing using a smartphone for the N-HUT. Participants were requested to report the acceptance ratings, sensory profiles, and emotion responses to four coffee samples. Some differences in the acceptance ratings might be due to the different attitudes participating in the evaluation. In the sensory profiling of the samples, multi-factor analysis (MFA) revealed highly similar sensory characteristics across the three types of tests. All RV coefficients (RVs) among the test conditions were above 0.93. The emotion responses to coffee samples were similar among test conditions based on the MFA with RV values greater than 0.84. In conclusion, we found that N-HUT produced similar results regarding the descriptions of sensory profiles and emotions, indicating that N-HUT is a suitable test method for collecting sensory data and overcoming CLT and HUT's regional limitations. Modern logistics systems and information technologies make it possible to conduct nationwide sensory evaluations without in-person contact or participant attendance at sensory testing facilities.

Shape of my likes: how explicit and implicit reference frames shape the liking of insect-based protein bar.

A high-protein bar incorporating mealworm powder was developed. The impact of explicit and implicit frame formation on the acceptance and sensory characteristics of this target bar was investigated by comparing it with four commercial protein bars for a total of 275 consumers. To construct the explicit frame, consumers watched a video clip about each frame (environment/nutrition/meal replacement) just before the evaluation. In the no-explicit-frame group, five protein bars were evaluated without video priming. The control group tasted the target sample only without any information. The implicit framework formed during the progress of exposure to various protein bar samples had a greater influence than explicit cues on the acceptance of the target. Promoting the nutritional and environmental merits of edible insects was not sufficient to improve the acceptability of the insect-incorporated protein bar. The liking decreased significantly with the inclusion of the commercial samples during the progress of sequential monadic serving.

Effects of Test Location and Sample Number on the Liking Ratings of Almond Beverage and Vegan Ramen Products.

The present study investigated the effects of the evaluation environment and sample number on liking ratings within the same testing session. It comprised two experiments that determined consumer taste ratings of the following food products: (1) almond beverage and (2) vegan ramen, as rated by 322 and 287 Korean consumers, respectively. Consumers tasted each food product under either laboratory or home-used test conditions. Additionally, three levels of sample numbers were established for evaluation (almond beverage test: 1, 2, and 4; vegan ramen test: 1, 3, and 5) in each test condition. A target sample was selected for each of the two food products to directly ascertain the effects of the evaluation environment and sample number on the liking ratings. The results revealed that during the same evaluation session, the sample number affected the liking ratings of the target sample more than the testing location. Moreover, the sample number effect was product item dependent, that is, no significant change was noted in the liking ratings of the target almond beverage sample according to sample number, whereas significant differences were observed in the liking ratings of the target vegan ramen sample. Furthermore, the sample number effect was more prominent under laboratory test conditions than under home-used test conditions probably due to the serving order effect driven by hedonic contrast, carry over effect, and sensory specific satiety. The findings demonstrate that home-used tests should be recommended over laboratory tests when measuring the liking of a small number of multiple sample food items with high flavor complexity.

Hedonic plasticity of vegan burger patty in implicit or explicit reference frame conditions.

BACKGROUND: The vegan food market is one of the fastest growing markets worldwide for ethical, environmental, and health reasons. However, vegan food is still relatively unfamiliar to Korean consumers. Their liking for vegan burger patties is in the early phase of development; thus, it is necessary to place the patties in an appropriate context or 'frame'. RESULTS: We investigated consumer (n = 269) liking for vegan patty under different frame conditions. The implicit frame condition was manipulated by evaluating a target sample along with four other vegan or meat samples. Consumers were further divided into two explicit groups that were exposed to or not exposed to a video clip on ethical food consumption before evaluating the samples. A control group evaluated the target sample only. The results showed that the implicit frame formed during the sample evaluation had a stronger influence than the explicit frame created by the video clip. Perceived familiarity with the target vegan patty drastically decreased when evaluated with other meat samples and negatively influenced the liking for it. CONCLUSION: The findings show that the type of samples evaluated sequentially together with the target vegan burger patty within the same session had a greater effect on the target sample than the information provided explicitly. To introduce the target vegan burger patty effectively to consumers who are relatively new to the vegan food product category such as Koreans, it is suggested that the product should be positioned under the category of vegan foods rather than the category of conventional burger patties. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

The Effects of Transglutaminase and Refrigerated Storage on the Physicochemical Properties of Whole Wheat Dough and Noodles.

This study investigated the effects of transglutaminase (TG) concentrations (0, 0.1% and 1%) on the physicochemical properties of whole wheat dough (WWD) and noodles (WWN) during refrigerated storage (0, 1, 2, and 3 days). The yield, ferulic acid (FA) content, molecular weight (Mw), and apparent viscosity (AV) of water extractable arabinoxylan (WEAX) from refrigerated WWDs were analysed. The WEAX yield and FA tended to increase with refrigerated storage, while the Mw decreased. WEAX FA of from WWD with TG tended to be smaller than the control during refrigeration. The AV for all WEAXs gradually decreased during refrigeration. The TG concentration effects on WWD resistance to extension and extensibility and the WWN cooking properties and texture profile analysis (TPA) were studied. The water absorption and swelling index tended to decrease in WWNs with TG depending on refrigeration time compared to the control samples. The TPA results showed that WWNs with TG were significantly harder than the control after two days of refrigeration. This study demonstrated that TG affected not only WWD composition but also WWN physical properties during refrigerated storage.

Flavor Profiling by Consumers Segmented According to Product Involvement and Food Neophobia.

The relationship between food-related individual characteristics and performance in sensory evaluation was investigated. The study focused on differences in discriminative ability and perceptual sensitivity according to levels of product involvement or food neophobia during the intensity rating of sensory attributes in consumer profiling. Consumers (N = 247) rated the intensity of attributes for seven flavored black tea drinks and completed the Food Neophobia Scale and the Personal Involvement Inventory measuring product involvement with the flavored black tea drink. In the higher product involvement (IH) group and the lower food neophobia (NL) group, the number of sensory attributes representing the sample effect and of subsets discriminating the samples were greater, and more total variance of the samples was explained. The higher the product involvement or the lower the food neophobia, the greater the differentiation in characterizing samples with more attributes in the intensity ratings. Interestingly, the high food neophobia (NH) group showed less active performance compared to the NL group during the sensory evaluation overall, but the NH group was more concerned about unfamiliar attributes and samples. The results implied that the positive attitude resulting from high product involvement and low food neophobia may induce more active behavior and better performance during the sensory evaluation.

Cross-Cultural Consumer Acceptability for Ethnic Fermented Sauce Products: Comparisons among Korean, UAE, and US Consumers.

The present study investigated the drivers of liking ethnic sauces in a cross-cultural context. Experiments were conducted to understand the acceptance of salad dressings and dipping sauces developed from Korean fermented seasonings among consumers with different ethnic backgrounds, including: South Korean, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and American. The samples of interest included four types of salad dressings made from fermented soybean paste (doenjang) and four types of spicy dipping sauces made from fermented chili pepper paste (gochujang). The salad dressings were preferred by Korean and US consumers. Koreans liked the nutty-flavored salad dressings, whereas UAE and American consumers commonly liked the spicy type. There was a stronger cross-cultural agreement in liking dipping sauces rather than salad dressings. Both Korean and American consumers liked spicy dipping sauces that elicited a sweet taste. UAE consumers tended to prefer the less spicy dipping sauce samples. Consumers in all three countries generally liked spicy dipping sauces more than salad dressings. Cultural differences were observed between the responses depending on the presence and level of spiciness in the two different food types. For product development with ethnic fermented flavors or chili spices, the contextual appropriateness and consumer familiarity with the corresponding flavor should be taken into account.

Development and validation of the food involvement inventory (FII) featuring the attitudinal constructs.

Food involvement is one of the personality traits that influences the food cognition and behavior of consumers. Given the irrelevance of previous food involvement scales such as measuring lifestyle diligence and a food culture, this study aimed to develop the food involvement inventory (FII) designed specifically for foods and current consumers. This study focused on identifying the factors/constructs of the FII that would best represent and explain food involvement through item generation, administration, and validation. The collected items from involvement-related scales and expert discussions were administrated based on the evidence of construct and content. Validation of the FII based on the exploratory factor analysis identified four attitudinal components as constructs (affective, cognitive, behavioral-purchase, and behavioral-cooking) within the final 25 items. These four constructs constituted structural models for the FII, and the models were shown to be acceptable in the confirmatory factor analysis.

Texture Preferences of Chinese, Korean and US Consumers: A Case Study with Apple and Pear Dried Fruits.

The present study aimed to understand the drivers of liking dried apple and pear chips with various textures among Chinese (n = 58), Korean (n = 58), and US (n = 56) consumers. The possibility of hedonic transfer from snack texture preferences to fruit-chip texture preferences was also investigated among Chinese and Koreans. Fourteen fruit-chip samples with four textural properties (crispy, puffy, soft, and jelly-like) were selected. Consumers rated their level of liking for each sample, and then they performed hedonic-based projective mapping with the same samples. In the hedonic texture transfer investigation, consumers rated their acceptance of nine snacks with various textures but possessing similar textures to those of dried fruit samples. The data were analyzed by ANOVA and multiple factor analysis. Most consumers disliked samples with a soft or jelly-like texture, while liked samples with a crispy texture. Cross-cultural differences were observed in the liking of puffy samples, with both Chinese and Koreans liking puffy samples as much as crispy ones for their melting characteristics in the mouth, while US consumers perceived the puffy samples as being Styrofoam-like and disliked them. Hedonic transfer was observed from snack texture preferences to fruit-chip. Individual texture preferences for snacks seem to significantly affect the texture preferences for fruit chips.

Understanding the drivers of liking for fresh pears: a cross-cultural investigation of Chinese and Korean panels and consumers.

BACKGROUND: This study identified and compared the drivers of liking for fresh pears cross-culturally, using Korean and Chinese panels and consumers. The pear samples consisted of six types of fresh pear varying in flavor and texture qualities. The descriptive panels for the two countries independently derived descriptive terms for the pears. Acceptance testing was also conducted to examine the hedonic levels of fresh pears among Chinese and Korean consumers. Multivariate analysis of variance, using a general linear model (GLM), and multiple-factor analysis were applied to the descriptive data. The consumer test data were analyzed using a GLM, correspondence analysis, and internal preference mapping. RESULTS: The results showed that the overall perceptual configurations of pears developed by the Chinese and Korean panels were similar. The consumer liking for fresh pears and the drivers of liking were also cross-culturally similar. Consumers from both countries liked crisp and juicy Asian pears but they had different perceptions of and liking for the pear with a strong fruity note and soft texture. This observation was supported by the results of the descriptive analysis, which showed that the Chinese panel considered this pear sample to be fruity and have an harmonious flavor, whereas the Korean panel - which was less familiar with the sample - considered its flavor unharmonious. CONCLUSION: Previous cross-cultural studies have often found that food acceptance levels vary markedly with the degree of familiarity with target foodstuffs. However, unlike other food categories, the difference seems relatively small for fruits that are commonly available across cultures. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

A cross-cultural study of acceptability and food pairing for hot sauces.

This study was conducted to understand the acceptance levels of hot sauces among consumers from different culinary cultures. Two newly developed hot sauces [fermented red chili pepper with soybean-paste-based sauce(GS) and fermented red chili-pepper-based sauce(KS)] were compared with Tabasco sauce(TB) and Sriracha sauce(SR). Two separate cross-cultural home-use tests(HUTs) were conducted: pizza and cream soup were provided as food items in HUT 1, whereas grilled chicken wings and rice noodle soup were provided in HUT 2. Consumers residing in Denmark, South Korea, and US participated in each HUT (n≅100 per country). Acceptance levels and the reasons for (dis)liking particular hot sauces applied to food systems were assessed. The food items that paired well with different hot sauces when the sauces were applied freely to regular meals were also analyzed among the US and Korean subjects. When the hot-sauce samples were applied to pizza and cream soup, the preferred order of the samples exhibited a cross-cultural agreement (GS = KS > TB). In the case of grilled chicken and rice noodle soup, the acceptance rating was similar for the three types of hot sauces among Koreans, whereas the acceptance was higher for SR among the US subjects for both foodstuffs, while Danish subjects preferred GS and KS over SR. The US subjects did not like hot-sauce samples with sweet and weak spiciness, whereas the Korean and Danish subjects disliked the hot-sauce sample when it was too spicy and not sufficiently sweet. These findings indicate that the matching of particular sauces with specific food items is culture-dependent, and this needs to be considered when trying to export food products such as hot sauce to other countries.

Acquired (dis)liking of natural cheese in different repeated exposure environment.

This study investigated the development of (dis)liking of various types of natural cheese with repeated exposures among Korean young females in two environment settings. Six types of natural cheese with varying flavor and texture characteristics were selected: Brie, Emmental, Gorgonzola, Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano and sharp Cheddar. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups (individual evaluation vs. social interaction) and exposed to all six types of cheeses eight times for 4 weeks. The acceptance scores for these cheeses were monitored at the beginning (first taste test) and end (second taste test) of the exposure test as well as 1 month after the completion of exposure test (third taste test). The results showed that the acceptance of cheese was affected by the cheese type and the number of test trials but not by tasting environment. The acceptance levels were higher for Brie, Gouda and sharp Cheddar than for Emmental, Gorgonzola and Parmigiano-Reggiano. When the subjects were exposed to Brie, Emmental, Gouda, and sharp Cheddar repeatedly, their acceptance level increased significantly. This study demonstrated that the liking of natural cheese can occur through repeated exposure to the cheese, but with the outcome varying with the type of cheese.

Understanding the sensory characteristics and drivers of liking for gochujang (Korean fermented chili pepper paste).

The present study investigated the sensory characteristics of 31 types of gochujang, a Korean fermented chili paste, produced in various regions of Korea. Generic descriptive analysis was conducted to analyze the sensory properties of the samples. Among these, four samples were selected for consumer taste test based on their distinct sensory profiles. The drivers of liking for gochujang were identified when the samples were applied to four different food systems. Consumers (age range: 20's-60's) rated the acceptance of the samples. ANOVA and multivariate analyses were conducted on the data. The types of carbohydrate sources or usage of additional seasoning showed stronger influence on the sensory characteristics of gochujang than the production location. Samples with strong fermented soy and fish sauce characteristics were fairly unacceptable to the consumers. The positive drivers of gochujang were appropriate levels of spiciness and sweet odors/flavors, whereas the negative drivers were off-note and fermentation-related flavors.

Sweetness potency and sweetness synergism of sweeteners in milk and coffee systems.

This study investigated the presence of sweetness synergism in milk and instant coffee systems. It consists of three parts: 1) modeling concentration-sweetness intensity curves of sweeteners (stevia, sucralose, xylose, tagatose and erythritol); 2) measuring the sweetness potencies of sweeteners compared to sucrose at wide concentration range; and 3) investigating the presence of sweetness synergisms in binary sweetener mixtures. The panelists evaluated sweetness and other sensory characteristics of sweeteners using descriptive analysis. Based on the modeled curve derived from step 1, the concentration of each sweetener with sweetness intensity equal to 2.5% or 2.8% sucrose was calculated for milk and coffee systems, respectively. For the sweetness synergism study, one type of intense sweetener was mixed with one type of bulk sweetener, each eliciting 2.5% or 2.8% equi-sweetness to sucrose, and compared with 5% sucrose added to a milk system or 5.6% sucrose added to a coffee system. The sweetness potencies of bulk sweeteners generally increased whereas the sweetness potencies of intense sweeteners decreased as the concentration increased. The binary sweetener mixtures mostly showed additivity in milk and suppression in coffee system rather than synergism when the concentration dependent nature of sweetness potency for each sweetener was taken into account.

Identifying the drivers of liking by investigating the reasons for (dis)liking using CATA in cross-cultural context: a case study on barbecue sauce.

BACKGROUND: The present study cross-culturally investigated the drivers of liking for traditional and ethnic chicken marinades using descriptive analysis and consumer taste tests incorporating the check-all-that-apply (CATA) method. Seventy-three Koreans and 86 US consumers participated. The tested sauces comprised three tomato-based sauces, a teriyaki-based sauce and a Korean spicy seasoning-based sauce. Chicken breasts were marinated with each of the five barbecue sauces, grilled and served for evaluation. Descriptive analysis and consumer taste tests were conducted. Consumers rated the acceptance on a hedonic scale and checked the reasons for (dis)liking by the CATA method for each sauce. A general linear model, multiple factor analysis and chi-square analysis were conducted using the data. RESULTS: The results showed that the preference orders of the samples between Koreans and US consumers were strikingly similar to each other. However, the reasons for (dis)liking the samples differed cross-culturally. The drivers of liking of two sauces sharing relatively similar sensory profiles but differing significantly in hedonic ratings were effectively delineated by reasons of (dis)liking CATA results. CONCLUSION: Reasons for (dis)liking CATA proved to be a powerful supporting method to understand the internal drivers of liking which can be overlooked by generic descriptive analysis.

Effects of milk type and consumer factors on the acceptance of milk among Korean female consumers.

Despite an overall increase in the consumption of milk products, the consumption of plain processed milk in South Korea is decreasing. One of the major reasons for this phenomenon is that consumers in Korea find the taste of plain milk unpalatable. The principal objective of this study was to identify the internal and external drivers of liking for milk among Korean consumers. The results of descriptive analysis (Chung and others 2008) were correlated to the results of consumer taste tests to identify the sensory characteristics that positively and negatively affect consumers' liking of milk. Consumers' health and food-related attitudes were surveyed as well as their daily milk consumption patterns to investigate the effects of these attitudes and consumption patterns on the liking for various types of milk. Consumers' liking of milk samples was positively correlated with sweetness, sweet cream flavor, and smooth texture. Grassy odor, raw milk flavor, artificial milk flavor, and rancid flavor were the negative drivers of liking. Consumers who frequently drink plain processed milk, in particular, preferred the UHT-processed whole milk samples, whereas infrequent drinkers preferred lactose-free milk samples. Consumers with strong food neophobic tendency significantly rated lower than consumers with weak tendency for most of the liking categories and some of the attribute intensities. Finally, when the consumers were grouped based on their common preference for milk samples, plain processed milk consumption frequency was the major determinant affecting the preference for milk.