Cereal Bars Research Articles

Distal and proximal predictors of snacking at work: A daily-survey study.

This study aimed at examining predictors of healthy and unhealthy snacking at work. As proximal predictors we looked at food-choice motives (health motive, affect-regulation motive); as distal predictors we included organizational eating climate, emotional eating, and self-control demands at work. We collected daily survey data from 247 employees, over a period of 2 workweeks. Multilevel structural equation modeling showed that organizational eating climate predicted health as food-choice motive, whereas emotional eating and self-control demands predicted affect regulation as food-choice motive. The health motive, in turn, predicted consuming more fruits and more cereal bars and less sweet snacks; the affect-regulation motive predicted consuming more sweet snacks. Findings highlight the importance of a health-promoting eating climate within the organization and point to the potential harm of high self-control demands at work. (PsycINFO Database Record

Mystification and obfuscation in portion sizes in UK food products

Concern has been expressed as to how obesity is framed as an individual responsibility easily solved with common sense. Such research has questioned the appropriateness of a size-based emphasis to public health. Moving away from the emphasis on the individual, this paper critically reviews consumer marketing techniques in the presentation of portion sizes, given what is known about human cognitive and physical limitations around food choice. Through a micro study of portion size in three products, cereals, cereal bars and yogurts, claims are made regarding marketing techniques of obfuscation in portion size presentation that at a macro level link to earlier critiques of marketing mystification. Findings suggest a number of specific obfuscators that could lead to passive overconsumption. The paper concludes that regulators should shift their emphasis away from the individual to examining marketing mystification and techniques of obfuscation. Information presentation should be more appropriate and consistent across brands within a product category.

Elaboration of a cereal bar enhanced with flour of buriti pulp (Mauritia flexuosa L.)

The buriti (Mauritia flexuosa L) shows high percentage of sugar, proteins, and carotenoids among others. The developing of the cereal bar added with dehydrated fruit has become a very important activity due its popularity, practicality, nutritional value and sensory characteristics. This work had as a goal, elaborate a cereal bar enhanced with different concentrations of 10%, 20% and 30% buriti flour. About the buriti pulp physical and chemical composition, were found 60,33% of moisture, 3,69% of protein, 49,8% of lipids, 0,18% of ashes, 46,64% of carbohydrates and 4,7mg of carotenoid/100 g of buriti sample. About the cereal bar physical and chemical characterization, 12,4% of moisture, 11.96% of lipid percentage, 6,76% of protein percentage, 0,16% of ashes and 68,72% of carbohydrates percentage. As for the smell, the 30% flour sample revealed a significant difference from the 10% sample, but similarity with the 20% sample. About the buriti flavor, the 30% sample revealed a significant difference with the average of 8,1. This sample has shown bigger averages for the sensorial tonality, compression, cereal flavor, buriti flour smell and buriti flour flavor attributes, having a bigger rating of acceptability.

Development of Low Glycemic Index (GI) Foods by Incorporating Pulse Ingredients into Cereal‐Based Products: Use of In Vitro Screening and In Vivo Methodologies

Pulse ingredients (pea and lentil flour, pea protein, and pea fiber) were incorporated into 94 different food products. Products included pastas, breads, crackers, extruded snacks, cookies, cereal bars, and muffins. Products were screened for estimated glycemic index using an in vitro method. Based on the screening results, five products (pasta, bread, cracker, granola bar, and cookie) were selected for in vivo glycemic index (GI) testing. For each control (containing 100% wheat flour), a pulse variant (containing up to 50% pulse ingredients) was developed. Ten healthy subjects consumed each test meal in addition to three control white bread meals on separate days during the in vivo GI testing. GI values of the control and pulse variant meals were 61.3 ± 5.1 versus 54.6 ± 7.6 (pasta), 61.4 ± 5.6 versus 53.4 ± 4.7 (focaccia bread), 46.0 ± 4.2 versus 41.5 ± 3.1 (cracker), 35.4 ± 3.6 versus 34.8 ± 5.0 (granola bar), and 41.6 ± 3.8 versus 37.6 ± 3.0 (cookie). The difference did not reach statistical significance (P > 0.05). Mean GI difference between control and pulse variant was 4.8 ± 2.6, with all pulse variants falling into the low GI category. Palatability scores showed no statistically significant difference (P > 0.05) between the control and pulse variant. The data support substituting wheat flour with pulse ingredients to reduce the GI value without changing palatability of the products.

Assessment of nutritional and lipid quality of salted cereal bars prepared with different binding agents

The aim of this paper was to assess the nutritional and lipid quality of salty cereal bars preparedusing different binding agents. The experiment consisted of preparing four cereal formulations with four different binding agents (collagen, guar gum, xanthan gum and psyllium). The physicochemical characteristics and main minerals of the bars were assessed to determine the nutritional value, atherogenic index and thrombogenic index. The ratios between hypocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic fatty acids were determined to assess the lipid quality of the product. The results show that the bars have considerable lipid content, carbohydrates, protein, fiber and energetic value. The atherogenicindexindex, thrombogenic index, and ratios between hypocholesterolemic and hypercholesterolemic fatty acids for all the formulations had good lipid quality, which indicates that the bars are a healthy food alternative.

Past, Present and Future of Military Food Technology

Food technology has been instrumental in ensuring that troops remain fit to fight. Early food technologies produced flat bread, hard biscuits, cheese and salted meat, allowing Roman legionaries to carry rations for several days. Canning was invented in the late 18th century in response to the French Government’s offer of a substantial reward to the person whose invention would allow troops to carry their food when marching long distances. World War II saw further advances in the form of stable and palatable canned meals, compressed cereal bars, candy-coated peanuts and other innovative foods in US combat rations. Two significant technology breakthroughs in the second half of the 20th century have altered the form of military rations. Freeze drying matured as an industrial technology, allowing the production of long-life, light-weight rations. Flexible packaging, based on plastic laminates, led to reduced weight and less waste disposal through the development of retort pouched meals (meals in flexible packaging that have undergone heat sterilization), which have largely replaced metal cans in combat rations. Improvements in quality of military rations, particularly their organoleptic properties, are emerging through application of innovative technologies such as high-pressure thermal processing, pulsed electric field, and microwave assisted thermal sterilization. Research and development of functional foods, such as those containing added essential fatty acids or probiotics offers the potential to provide combat rations that can further improve soldier health and performance.

Rapid quantitation of avenanthramides in oat-containing products by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (HPLC-TQMS).

Avenanthramides (AVNs) are a family of nitrogen-containing phenolic compounds produced in oat; AVN 2c, 2p, and 2f are the three major members. An LC-MS/MS method was developed, with the limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) being, respectively, 0.29ng/mL and 1.96ng/mL for AVN 2c, 0.24ng/mL and 0.60ng/mL for AVE 2p, and 0.42ng/mL and 2.2ng/mL for AVN 2f. The method was validated in oat-containing hot cereal and snack bar samples. The recovery of AVN 2c, 2p, and 2f from these two oat products was 95-113%, and the relative standard deviations ranged from 5% to 9%. This method was used to evaluate oat products and raw oat samples. The effects of location and variety on AVN composition were investigated. The method presented here provides a novel and rapid tool to quantitate the abundance of AVN 2c, 2p, and 2f in oat-containing products.

DESENVOLVIMENTO, COMPOSIÇÃO CENTESIMAL E ANÁLISE SENSORIAL DE BARRAS À BASE DE GRÃOS DE QUINOA (CHENOPODIUM QUINOA WILLD.) SUBMETIDOS A DIFERENTES TRATAMENTOS TÉRMICOS

Objective: Considering the high nutritional value of quinoa grain, with protein composed by all essential amino acids, this study aimed to develop cereal bars elaborated with this grain after two different thermal processing, to evaluate the chemical composition and to verify the preference between the bars using a sensory analysis. Material and methods: The bars were prepared with quinoa submitted to hydration process in water and toasting process. It was performed the chemical composition (moisture, ash, crude fiber, protein, lipids and carbohydrates) of the grains and quinoa bars. The sensory analysis for verification of preference between the bars was performed by hedonic scale of 7 points and purchase intent by 5-point scale. Results: The lipid, crude fiber, ash and carbohydrate contents of quinoa grains had variations after thermal processing. Between the bars, there were significant differences in protein, ash and carbohydrates amount. In the sensorial analysis, the bar containing toasted quinoa grains was preferred, with good acceptability index (85%), while the bar containing hydrated quinoa grains presented a lower rate (66.34%), not being accepted, mainly because of its softened texture. The same occurred in purchase intent, which consumers showed that would probably buy the bar elaborate with toasted grains and would maybe buy the bar containing hydrated grains. Conclusion: The cereal bar produced with toasted quinoa grains is the best formulation for product development, which has viability to be commercialized, as it obtained a good acceptability index. DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2016.22384

Reformulating cereal bars: high resistant starch reduces in vitro digestibility but not in vivo glucose or insulin response; whey protein reduces glucose but disproportionately increases insulin

Resistant starch (RS) and whey protein are thought to be effective nutrients for reducing glycemic responses. We aimed to determine the effect of varying the sucrose, RS, and whey protein content of cereal bars on glucose and insulin responses. Twelve healthy subjects [mean ± SD age: 36 ± 12 y; mean ± SD body mass index (in kg/m2): 24.9 ± 2.7] consumed 40 g available-carbohydrate (avCHO) portions of 5 whole-grain cereal bars that contained varying amounts of RS and whey protein concentrate [WPC; 70% protein; RS:WPC, %wt:wt: 15:0 (Bar15/0); 15:0, low in sucrose (Bar15/0LS); 15:5 (Bar15/5); 10:5 (Bar10/5); and 10:10 (Bar10/10)] and 2 portion sizes of a control bar low in whole grains, protein, and RS [control 1 contained 40 g avCHO (Control1); control 2 contained total carbohydrate equal to Bar15/0LS (Control2)] on separate days by using a randomized crossover design. Glucose and insulin responses in vivo and carbohydrate digestibility in vitro were measured over 3 h. Incremental area under the curve (iAUC) over 0-3 h for glucose (min × mmol/L) differed significantly between treatments (P < 0.001) [Bar15/0LS (mean ± SEM), 169 ± 14; Control2, 164 ± 20; Bar15/0, 144 ± 15; Control1, 140 ± 17; Bar10/5, 117 ± 12; Bar15/5, 116 ± 9; and Bar10/10, 100 ± 9; Tukey's least significant difference = 42, P < 0.05], but insulin iAUC did not differ significantly. Higher protein content was associated with a lower glucose iAUC (P = 0.028) and a higher insulin-to-glucose iAUC ratio (P = 0.002) All 5 RS-containing bars were digested in vitro ∼30% more slowly than the control bars (P < 0.05); however, in vivo responses were not related to digestibility in vitro. Glucose and insulin responses elicited by high-RS, whey protein-free bars were similar to those elicited from control bars. The inclusion of RS in cereal bar formulations did not reduce glycemic responses despite slower starch digestion in vitro. Thus, caution is required when extrapolating in vitro starch digestibility to in vivo glycemic response. The inclusion of whey protein in cereal bar formulations to reduce glycemic response requires caution because this may be associated with a disproportionate increase in insulin as judged by an increased insulin-to-glucose iAUC ratio. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02537587.

Adição de prebiótico em barras de cereais: caracterização físico-química e aceitabilidade sensorial entre praticantes de lutas marciais

The objective this study was to verify the sensory acceptability of cereal bars added inulin between practitioners of martial arts. Also, to determine the physico-chemical composition of the standard formulation and that more inulin content and standard similar to acceptance. Five formulations were prepared cereal bars: F1 (standard with 0% inulin) and the other containing 2% (F2), 4% (F3), 6% (F4) and 8% (F5) inulin. Participated in the sensory evaluation 100 untrained panelists, of both genders, aged between 18 and 60 years. The physico-chemical analysis evaluated the moisture, ash, protein, lipids, carbohydrates, calories and dietary fiber content. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) between samples for appearance, aroma and color attributes. However, F5 had lower acceptability than the standard formulation in taste and texture attributes, and global acceptance and purchase intent. Considering this context, F4 was the sample with the highest inulin content and similar acceptance to the standard in most of the evaluated attributes being selected along with the standard formulation for evaluation of physico-chemical composition. There was no difference between the moisture, ash, protein and lipids content to the standard formulation and F4. Lower content of calories and higher carbohydrate and dietary fiber were found in F4 comparing it with the standard sample. It is concluded that a level of addition of up to 6% inulin into the cereal bars was well accepted by tasters to give sensory acceptance similar to standard product with good market expectation.

Nutritional Value and Consumer Acceptance of New Cereal Bars Offered to Children

Childhood obesity has become a serious public health problem in recent decades and is associated with severe health disorders and risk of illness [de Onis et al., 2010]. Already in 1997, the World Health Organization (WHO) has announced obesity as one of the most severe hazards to the health of children and adults [WHO Report, 1997]. The epidemiological and statistical data indicated that obesity among children had increased dramatically over the last two decades. In 2002, in the United States the problem of obesity affected as many as 30% of the surveyed children and adolescents [Hedley et al., 2004]. Haslam and James estimated that in 2005 ca. 10% of the global population under the age of 18 years has suffered from overweight or obesity [Haslam & James, 2005]. In 2010, 43 millions of children were estimated to be overweight and obese; whereas 92 millions were at risk of overweight. This growing trend is expected to reach 9.1% in 2020 [de Onis et al., 2010]. According to estimates from the WHO’s Childhood Obesity Surveillance Initiative (COSI), in the EU around 1 in 3 children aged 6–9 years were overweight or obese in 2010 [WHO Report, 2010]. A school-based survey conducted in 2010 among 10–12 year old children in seven Euro-

Development of Cereal Bars Containing Pineapple Peel Flour (Ananas comosus L. Merril)

AbstractCereal bars are nutritious food composed of several ingredients including cereals, fruits, nuts and sugar among others. Thus, this study aimed to develop cereal bars containing pineapple peel flour. A completely randomized design was used with four treatments, as follows: Control (0% flour); T1 (3% flour); T2 (6% flour); and T3 (9% flour), for the variables moisture, ash, protein, fat, crude fiber and carbohydrates. It was observed that the higher the pineapple peel flour content, the greater the crude fiber content in the cereal bars was, evidencing the significant amounts of crude fiber in the pineapple peel. In the texture analysis, although an increase in bar consistency was observed with increasing concentrations of pineapple peel flour, no differences were observed up to 6% flour addition when compared to the control. With respect to the sensory attributes, the samples scored among the hedonic terms 7.0 (moderately good) and 9.0 (very good). It can be concluded that the pineapple peel flour is a good alternative to be introduced in human diet, in addition to significantly reduce waste generation in the pulp industries.Practical ApplicationsIn this study, we produced cereal bars using different concentrations of pineapple peel flour (PPF), a co‐product of the fruit industry. We observed that the addition of up to 6% PPF in the cereal bars did not alter the sensory acceptance and increased the fiber content. We believe that these findings may be useful for the production of cereal bars with healthier characteristics and reduce the environment impact caused by industrialization of pineapple.

Cereal bar with cassava bagasse: chemical composition and sensory acceptance

Cassava bagasse, regarded as an agricultural residue can be used as raw material in the development of new products. Cereal bars are foods that have increasingly gained consumers because of the practical use. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding cassava bagasse (0, 8 and 25%) on the chemical composition and sensory acceptance of coconut cereal bars with Brazil nuts. Cereal bars with cassava bagasse had higher moisture, protein and carbohydrates (fiber) contents than cereal bars without bagasse, lower ash contents and similar fat content. The addition of cassava bagasse caused a decrease in the acceptance of the cereal bars only in the concentration of 25%, however, the products had hedonic values greater than 7 in a 9-point hedonic scale and acceptability indices higher than 80%, indicating that consumers moderately liked them. It can be concluded that the use of up to 25% cassava bagasse in the cereal bar formulation yields products with improved nutritional value and appropriated consumer acceptance. The addition of cassava bagasse to food products is a good alternative in the use of this byproduct, due to the sensory characteristics of the obtained products and the reduction of production costs, because the cassava bagasse has low cost and increases the production yield.

Physico-chemical, sensory and nutritional characteristics of cereal bars with addition of acacia gum, inulin and sorbitol

The cereal bars are products globally accepted and consumed by all age groups. In this study, by Response Surface Methodology (RSM), the effects of different concentrations of inulin, acacia gum and sorbitol in the characteristics of hardness, color and water activity of cereal bars were studied. A total of 17 experiments being 8 factorials, 6 axials and 3 repetitions at the central point were performed. The regression model presented for the hardness was significant indicating that the quantities of inulin, acacia gum and sorbitol affect the hardness of the cereal bars. Referring to color it was observed that the less inulin and more sorbitol, the more yellow the tone of the bars was. The results of water activity were not influenced by the ingredients. In a comprehensive assessment through the RSM, the bars coming from the treatments 5 and 11 provided the best results and when submitted to sensory evaluation they were not statistically different. Although these bars have presented reduction of 15 to 20% in calorific value, according to the DRC 54/2012 they cannot be considered products with a reduced caloric value. These bars also presented considerable level of soluble fiber (more than 3% inulin).

Distraction, restrained eating and disinhibition: An experimental study of food intake and the impact of 'eating on the go'.

To assess the impact of distraction on subsequent eating, 60 females consumed a cereal bar while watching TV, walking or talking, and their subsequent desire to eat and food intake were assessed. No effects were found for desire to eat. But while those higher in restrained eating consumed less overall and fewer calories after watching TV or talking, they consumed more overall and more calories (specifically five times more chocolate) if the cereal bar was eaten while walking. 'Eating on the go' may disinhibit restrained eaters either as a form of distraction or by offering a justification to overeat.

Following Gluten Free Diet: Less Available, Higher Cost and Poor Nutritional Profile of Gluten-Free School Snacks

Background. Celiac disease has a high prevalence globally and to date the only effective treatment is a strict gluten-free diet for life. Diet compliance is difficult due to current unhealthy eating habits and increasing overweight/obesity, especially for school age children. Objectives. To assess availability, cost and nutritional adequacy of gluten-free school snacks. Methods. Five store categories (large, regular-size and wholesale supermarkets, health food stores and corner shops) were assessed in districts representing low, middle and high socioeconomic levels. Three categories of school snacks were surveyed: dairy products (milk boxes, yogurts), cereals (in bulk, cereal bars) and baked goods (various cookies). Portions and prices were standardized and the closest gluten-containing products were matched for comparison. Availability, cost and nutritional quality (total calories, total fat, carbohydrates and sodium) were then evaluated. Results. A total of 1562 products were assessed. Gluten-free products were less available, with significant differences among the socioeconomic levels for cereals and baked goods (P<0.05). Also, they were more expensive than gluten-containing products. Except for cereal calories and sodium in the upper socioeconomic level, less than one third of the products available met FAO/WHO recommendations. Products meeting all 4 characteristics (total calories, total fat, carbohydrates and sodium) analyzed were 7.8%, 7.3% and 7.3% in the upper, middle and low socioeconomic level, respectively. Conclusions. Gluten-free dairy products, cereals and baked snacks available as snacks for school-age celiac children are fewer, with less variety and more expensive than gluten containing counterparts; the majority of them not meeting current nutritional recommendations.

Toxic Trace Element Contents in Gluten-free Cereal Bars Marketed in Argentina

Celiac disease is a food intolerance triggered by the ingestion of gluten-containing cereals; the only therapy is a strict gluten-free diet for life. In recent years, gluten-free cereal bars has achieved considerable attention as an interesting alternative food considering its several advantages, such as functional properties, nutritional contents, variety of presentations and flavors. The aim of this study was to determine the contents of three toxic trace elements (arsenic, cadmium and lead) in commercial gluten-free cereal bars marketed in Argentina by ICP-MS and assess the dietary intake of the three toxic elements compared with reference values. The results obtained indicated that the highest total concentration of arsenic is provided by the gluten-free cereal bars with green apple pomace (28.2 µg/kg) and the levels of cadmium were lower than 10 µg/kg or even below MDL in all samples. The lead contents in all bars with honey samples were exceptionally higher than in the other samples (levels greater than 130 µg/kg). The intake of available gluten-free cereal bars are generally safe for consumers, but particular attention should be paid to monitor the content of arsenic and lead gluten-free cereal bars to ensure the quality of the product. Further studies are necessary to achieve an exact risk evaluation, concerning the bioavailability of trace elements in gluten-free food sources.

Physicochemical properties of sorghum and technological aptitude for popping. Nutritional changes after popping

The aims were to characterize 28 hybrids of red (RS) and white (WS) sorghum by physicochemical analysis, relate them with their technological aptitude for popping, and asses nutritional changes after popping in selected samples. Through principal component analysis it was observed that the higher the grain hardness, the higher apparent volume of popped product was, and performance was higher for WS. An indicator of the ability of sorghum hybrids to pop was developed. Comparing precooked samples with their native flours, no significant difference for protein and fat content was observed, but ash, dietary fiber, and minerals were reduced by popping. Protein digestibility increased but available lysine decreased (WS:1.3 and RS:1.2 times). Phytic acid, polyphenols and antioxidant capacity were reduced (WS: 1.3 and RS: 1.5; WS: 1.3 and RS: 1.8; WS: 1.3 and RS: 1.7 times, respectively), but whole flour precooked by popping can be considered an important source of antioxidants. Popped sorghum is an interesting alternative as food itself, or as ingredient for making other foods such as cereal bars.

Spray Chilling Microencapsulation of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis and Its Use in the Preparation of Savory Probiotic Cereal Bars

The use of probiotic microorganisms has been limited by the difficulty of maintaining their viability during processing and throughout the product’s shelf life. This study evaluated the viability of microencapsulating Lactobacillus acidophilus (LA) and Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis (BL) using the spray chilling technique to add them to savory cereal bars. The results showed that spray chilling generated a powder that was composed of smooth and continuous spheres with low moisture content and low water activity. The microencapsulated microorganisms exhibited a storage viability at least of 90 days as microparticles and in savory cereal bars, and their counts were superior to those resulting from other methods of adding activated and lyophilized probiotics to savory cereal bars. Thus, microparticles prepared by spray chilling are good vehicles for incorporating probiotics into cereal bars and have the potential to release the probiotics in the consumers’ intestines by means of fat digestion. Savory cereal bars that did and did not contain probiotics exhibited no differences in sensorial acceptance or commercial potential.

Estudio de aceptabilidad y saciedad de barritas de cereal altas en fibra dietética en escolares de una escuela rural de Chile

Cereal bars for infant collation in two flavors were developed: apple and red fruits. The bars were made with oatmeal and dried fruit, low in saturated ...