Integration of an Objective Approach Focused on the Consumer to Evaluate the Quality of Processed Brussels Sprouts

Daniela Flavia Olivera,Rodolfo Horacio Mascheroni,Ricardo Mario Ferreyra,Alicia Raquel Chaves,Alicia Mugridge,Sonia Zulma Viña

doi:10.4236/fns.2011.29135

Abstract

Few research works focus on integration of the objective analysis of frozen vegetable quality and the preference of consumers for these products. The aim of the present work was to investigate the consumption patterns of Brussels sprouts, the degree of importance that consumers give to main attributes, and the constructions they make about product quality. For this aim, a series of surveys (snowball sampling method) were performed with consumers from four cities in Argentina. Also, the effect of different industrial operations (two blanching procedures, freezing and cooking) on texture, color, total chlorophyll content and ascorbic acid content of processed sprouts, was determined with respect to the fresh product. A function Z (overall quality) was defined to integrate the information obtained by both approaches. Taking into account the relative importance assigned by surveyed consumers to appearance, texture and nutrient content, the quality of final product obtained from different processing methods was equivalent. Most consumers, 96% of total, preferred the fresh product, which suggests that prejudging by consumers influences attempts at objective estimation of quality.

Highlights

The relationship between vegetables consumption and risk reduction of chronic diseases is well known by the scientific community [1,2,3]
Vitamin C includes the ascorbic acid and its oxidation product, the dehydroascorbic acid, which are present in high concentration in Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea L. gemmifera DC)
It can be seen that more than 42% of surveyed people consume the product seasonably. It can be inferred a high preference for the fresh product, which was reflected in the answers to third and fourth questions of the first survey, where more than 90% of respondents turned to this option

Summary

Introduction

The relationship between vegetables consumption and risk reduction of chronic diseases is well known by the scientific community [1,2,3]. Vegetables from the genus Brassica may be beneficial in preventing such diseases [4], since besides vitamins, carotenoids and polyphenols, they contain glucosinolates, which are compounds with low antioxidant activity but their hydrolysis generates products with certain anti-carcinogenic properties [5,6,7]. Vitamin C includes the ascorbic acid and its oxidation product, the dehydroascorbic acid, which are present in high concentration in Brussels sprouts (Brassica oleracea L. gemmifera DC). For this reason, their incorporation to diet in higher amounts or the increase in the consumption frequency would be helpful to human health. There are studies about the changes in quality and nutritional value of vegetables induced by freezing, conventional blanching and cooking [9,10,11], as well as specific information of the Brassica vegetables [4,12,13]

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Conclusion