Acceptance of a New Food Enriched in β-Glucans among Adolescents: Effects of Food Technology Neophobia and Healthy Food Habits.

Cristina Proserpio,Ella Pagliarini,Vera Lavelli,Monica Laureati,Beatrice Frigerio

doi:10.3390/foods8100433

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to evaluate adolescents’ acceptability of a novel flat bread modified by substituting a part of the wheat flour content with a Pleurotus ostreatus powder rich in β-glucans, which can potentially provide health benefits. The effects of food technology neophobia and adolescents’ food habits on hedonic perception of the developed product was also investigated. Two hundred and two adolescents (age range: 13–18 years; girls: 49.5%; boys: 50.5%) evaluated their liking of two flat breads, one with mushroom powder added and one control sample with only wheat flour. Sample acceptance was studied in relation to age, gender, neophobic traits and healthy food habits. The results showed that, even if the sample with mushroom powder added was generally well accepted, there were different hedonic responses among adolescents according to their food technology neophobia level and healthy habits. In particular, adolescents with a low food technology neophobia level and healthy eating behavior mostly appreciated the sample with mushroom powder added, whereas subjects with neophobic and unhealthy eating behavior gave comparable hedonic scores to the two samples. Moreover, a negative correlation was found between food technology neophobia level and healthy food habits. In conclusion, it is possible to develop a β-glucan-enriched product appreciated by adolescents using a sustainable ingredient. The developed product may be used to achieve the daily recommended intake of β-glucans by adolescents.

Highlights

It is well known that a proper dietary intake and healthy lifestyle are associated with a lower risk of pathologies, such as obesity and type-2 diabetes, in both children and adolescents
The adolescents’ neophobia toward new food technologies and their healthy behavior was investigated to understand whether these variables could influence the acceptance of the developed samples
Most of the studies related to the evaluation of the sensory proprieties of food with P. ostreatus added concern adult consumers, whereas this study is the first of its kind to consider adolescents

Summary

Introduction

It is well known that a proper dietary intake and healthy lifestyle are associated with a lower risk of pathologies, such as obesity and type-2 diabetes, in both children and adolescents. Results of previous studies highlighted that the total dietary fiber intake is rather low among European adolescents compared to the World Health. Dietary fiber includes heterogeneous classes of compounds, such as oligosaccharides and resistant starch, that may be associated with lignin and other non-carbohydrate components (e.g., polyphenols, saponins, and resistant protein) [4]. Among these compounds, water-soluble fiber (WSF) purportedly has various positive health effects. WSF is able to hold up bowel absorption, which can reduce

Objectives

Methods

Findings

Conclusion