Consumer Evaluation of Low Sodium Mozzarella Cheese and Development of a Novel Method for Evaluating Emotions

Abstract

Mozzarella cheese is currently the highest consumed cheese in the United States. The popularity of mozzarella cheese is typically attributed to the high consumption rates of pizza cheese and string cheese; both of which are low moisture part skim (LMPS) mozzarella cheese. A single serving of LMPS mozzarella cheese contains approximately 8% of the daily value (DV) for sodium, a mineral which is currently consumed in excess among most Americans. On average, one in three Americans has hypertension. This condition is strongly associated with excessive sodium intake, and it is a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke in the United States. Considering the popularity of LMPS mozzarella cheese, its sodium content, and the alarmingly high rates of hypertension among the American population, mozzarella cheese appears to be a product worth pursuing for sodium reduction. Salt (NaCl) provides several key benefits to cheese including: flavor enhancement, preservation, moisture control, and syneresis; thus reducing its concentration in cheese can result in multiple quality concerns. Previous research has investigated the effects of lower sodium in a variety of cheeses including: cheddar, feta, and imitation cheese. Typical methods for reducing sodium content in cheese include reduction of NaCl alone to a level which is still acceptable or partial substitution of NaCl with salt replacers including KCl. For assessing the consumer acceptability of low sodium cheeses, researchers have typically employed the use of traditional hedonic, preference, and ranking questions; however, consumer scientists have recently suggested the benefits of asking consumers questions which go beyond typical acceptability questions. Purchase intent and decision making have been associated with consumer emotions, and perhaps by better understanding consumer emotions toward nutritional alternative foods, including low sodium mozzarella cheese, a more successful low sodium cheese can be developed. The current study implemented a series of tests to progressively understand the role NaCl plays in mozzarella cheese and consumer opinion of low sodium cheese. A series of traditional sensory tests, including triangle, duo-trio, and hedonic tests, were performed to determine a sensory transparent antimicrobial and a consumer acceptable salt replacer. Based upon this sequence of tests, a single antimicrobial (SEA-i F75) and concentration (0.275%) were selected in addition to the most consistently preferred salt replacer in a low sodium mozzarella cheese system; however, the most preferred salt replacer was dependent upon the type of mozzarella cheese (direct acid or bacteria cultured). In order to address the potentially limited information from traditional sensory testing, a novel method for evaluating emotions was developed. The IMET (Image Measurement of Emotion and Texture) method utilized consumer provided images of emotions, researcher generated emotion images, and emotion words (the current industry standard) to aid in…