Food Marketplace Research Articles

Perceived Value of Cultured Proteins as Novel Food in Canada: Generation Z Consumers in a Cross Generational Perspective

A national Canadian survey, completed in October 2021 of 10,019 Canadians, provides detailed insight into the Canadian novel food marketplace. Questions gauged consumer perception, and openness to cultured proteins (CPs) across a range of considerations, juxtaposing Generation Z (those born between 1997 and 2005) with the broader Canadian average. Survey respondents, to a degree, are open to CPs commercialization, while mixed about the environmental and ethical value. CPs companies, regulators, policy-makers and investors need to be aware of the multi-dimensional aspects of consumer decision-making, backing claims with validated science. Overall value will need to be matched with taste and nutritional claims, built on trust, in Canada, and globally. Whether it is the social ethics of Generation Z that will become the strongest proponents of CPs (or aspirational consumers regardless of their age), market value creation for the emergent sector can think of brand validation, and the public-private motivations in an adaptive science.

Middle-ranking household food acquisition: the impact of marketplaces on purchasing patterns and networks of supply in eighteenth-century Bristol and Boston

ABSTRACT Studies of consumption have historically focused on the ways early modern consumers acquired fashionable and novel goods. More recently, the focus has shifted towards the consumption of everyday commodities by rural households. This study addresses the most central component of household consumption, food, and assesses the impact of urban marketplaces on its acquisition. Using a comparative analysis of food provision for middle-ranking households in Bristol and Boston, 1734-1742, it highlights the complexity and range of considerations required to ensure regular, fresh supplies of food. This study demonstrates that, despite the greater prevalence of advertising and conventional retailing in the food marketplace in Boston, factors peculiar to food provision, such as perishability and authenticity, meant both households continued to acquire this essential commodity through trusted, local, often familial, suppliers.

Barriers and Facilitators of Online Grocery Services: Perceptions from Rural and Urban Grocery Store Managers.

Online grocery shopping has expanded rapidly in the U.S., yet little is known about the retailer’s perceptions of online grocery services, which can aid in the expansion of services. Furthermore, many barriers to online grocery utilization persist across geographic areas, especially among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-authorized retailers. This study captured perceived barriers and facilitators of online grocery shopping for managers of SNAP-authorized retailers. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers (n = 23) of grocery stores/supermarkets in urban and rural areas across four different states: TN, KY, NC, and NY. Grocery store managers offering online ordering (n = 15) and managers from brick-and-mortar stores without online services (n = 8) participated in the interviews. Three primary themes emerged among managers offering online ordering: (1) order fulfillment challenges, (2) perceived customer barriers, and (3) perceived customer benefits. Among managers at brick-and-mortar locations without online services, four major themes emerged: (1) thoughts on implementing online shopping, (2) COVID-19 pandemic impacts, (3) competition with other stores, and (4) benefits of maintaining brick-and-mortar shopping. This study provides a deeper understanding of retailers’ experience and perceptions of online grocery services among stores authorized to accept SNAP benefits. This perspective is necessary to inform policies and enhance the evolving virtual food marketplace for SNAP customers.

“American rice is cleaner”: marketplace hybridity and the cultural transformation of food in the Dominican Republic

PurposeThe article offers a study of the central food marketplace in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The purpose of the study is to explore how changes in the marketplace reflect transformation of urban food systems resulting from neoliberal restructuring during the final decades of the twentieth century.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on long-term qualitative research conducted during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including ethnographic and survey methods, the article illustrates how central urban marketplaces offer a window into transitions in both international and domestic food economies.FindingsResearch findings illustrate that the marketplace in Santiago operated in a state of economic hybridity, intermixing long established regionally produced domestic crops such as yuca, plantains and pigeon peas deeply rooted in Dominican agrarian culture with products dervived from liberalization of the Dominican economy such as imported rice, beans and eventually numerous Dominican food staples.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is limited by the scope of analysis which is one urban marketplace. More sites for researching marketplaces could be added for more comparative analysis.Practical implicationsThe research findings have implications for how governments define social and economic policy that impacts domestic food producers and intermediary brokers that aggregate and debulk food to feed cities.Originality/valueThe scholarship raises questions about how the social and economic organization of urban marketplaces in the Dominican Republic and elsewhere reflect historical transitions in local, national and global economies.

Nutrient comparisons of margarine/margarine-like products, butter blend products and butter in the US marketplace in 2020 post-FDA ban on partially hydrogenated oils.

To evaluate the fatty acid profiles and relevant vitamin and mineral compositions of margarine/margarine-like products and butter blend products available in the US marketplace and to compare with butter. Analysis of the food and nutrient composition information available for margarine/margarine-like products, butter blend products and butter in the 2021 version of the University of Minnesota Nutrition Coordinating Center (NCC) Food and Nutrient Database. The US retail food marketplace in 2020. A selection of eighty-three margarine/margarine-like or butter blend products available in the USA in 2020 and regular and whipped butter (both salted and unsalted). All products contained no or negligible amounts of trans fat. Mean daily values (DV) for SFA per 1 tablespoon ranged from 11 % for margarine/margarine-like tub and squeeze products to 18 % for margarine/margarine-like stick products and butter blend products. In contrast, one tablespoon butter provides 36 % of the DV for SFA. Results from ANOVA comparing the percent of total fat from SFA, PUFA and MUFA by product type indicated significant differences for SFA (P < 0·01) and PUFA (P < 0·01), but not MUFA (P = 0·07). Leading brands of margarine/margarine-like and butter blend products examined in this study were found to be in greater alignment with current dietary recommendations for fatty acids and cholesterol than butter. Margarine/margarine-like tub and squeeze products were found to be optimal over margarine/margarine-like stick products and butter blend products. Future research should include an examination of private label products.

PSIII-4 Nutritional evaluation of yeast biomass from candida utilis as a protein source in cat diets

Abstract Yeast products have found much favor within companion animal nutrition. A recently developed proprietary process has introduced an enhanced yeast biomass from Candida utilis (merchandised as SylPro®) into the animal food marketplace. Candida utilis has been shown to be a valuable protein in canine, swine and aquaculture diets; however, no previous research has evaluated its use in feline diets. Therefore, the current objective was to determine the nutrient digestibility of diets containing SylPro® yeast biomass (SYL) as the primary protein source relative to soybean meal (SOY), pea protein concentrate (PEA), and chicken meal (CKN) fed to cats. Apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of diets were estimated using Titanium dioxide as an indigestible marker. The DM ATTD for SYL was lower (P &amp;lt; 0.0001) than CKN (86.39 vs. 87.43%, respectively) but similar to both SOY (85.66%) and PEA (86.54%). The OM ATTD of SYL, SOY, and PEA were not different (P &amp;lt; 0.0001) and were each lower than CKN (average of 89.60 vs. 91.16%, respectively). The CP ATTD for SYL (89.9%) was not different from the other three treatments (P = 0.0200). Crude fat ATTD of SYL was lower (92.52%; P &amp;lt; 0.0001) than all treatments with PEA being greatest (94.82%) and CKN and SOY intermediate (average of 93.84%). The SYL and CKN had higher TDF ATTD (average of 66.20%; P &amp;lt; 0.0001) relative to PEA and SOY (average of 49.79%). The GE ATTD of SYL was lower than CKN (90.18 vs. 90.97%, respectively; P = 0.0154) but similar to both SOY (90.18%) and PEA (90.30%). In conclusion, all diets were highly digestible but CKN preformed the best. The SYL diet was similar to CKN for ATTD of CP and TDF. The SYL diet was also similar to both SOY and PEA for ATTD of DM, OM, CP and GE.

Identification of squash landraces using UPOV descriptors and morphological traits

Plant identification and genotyping within a germplasm collection are important elements in planning a breeding program that can improve the development of plants with desirable market characteristics. In the current study, 20 squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) landraces were collected and identified from different areas in Egypt to investigate the plant diversity and genetic variations based on differences in plant morphology and the International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) descriptors. A total of 24 quantitative and qualitative morphological differences characterized the genetic variability among genotypes. The demonstrated variability among all the tested landraces suggested a large number of genotypes within the squash lines. The results showed the potential of morphological markers for the identification and assessment of genetic variations among squash landraces and provided a number of choices for planning a successful breeding program to improve squash landraces. The obtained results on the 20 studied genotypes established that the agronomic traits based on morphological traits and UPOV descriptor data provide cost-effective preliminary tools for genotypic varietal characterization and evaluation for breeding purposes. Moreover, the utilization of these neglected local squash landraces and the subsequent improvement can increase the diversity in the food marketplace at the local level and enhance agricultural biodiversity.

Comparative cellular, physiological and transcriptome analyses reveal the potential easy dehulling mechanism of rice-tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum Tararicum)

BackgroundTartary buckwheat has gained popularity in the food marketplace due to its abundant nutrients and high bioactive flavonoid content. However, its difficult dehulling process has severely restricted its food processing industry development. Rice-tartary buckwheat, a rare local variety, is very easily dehulled, but the cellular, physiological and molecular mechanisms responsible for this easy dehulling remains largely unclear.ResultsIn this study, we integrated analyses of the comparative cellular, physiological, transcriptome, and gene coexpression network to insight into the reason that rice-tartary buckwheat is easy to dehull. Compared to normal tartary buckwheat, rice-tartary buckwheat has significantly brittler and thinner hull, and thinner cell wall in hull sclerenchyma cells. Furthermore, the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents of rice-tartary buckwheat hull were significantly lower than those in all or part of the tested normal tartary buckwheat cultivars, respectively, and the significant difference in cellulose and hemicellulose contents between rice-tartary buckwheat and normal tartary buckwheat began at 10 days after pollination (DAP). Comparative transcriptome analysis identified a total of 9250 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the rice- and normal-tartary buckwheat hulls at four different development stages. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) of all DEGs identified a key module associated with the formation of the hull difference between rice- and normal-tartary buckwheat. In this specific module, many secondary cell wall (SCW) biosynthesis regulatory and structural genes, which involved in cellulose and hemicellulose biosynthesis, were identified as hub genes and displayed coexpression. These identified hub genes of SCW biosynthesis were significantly lower expression in rice-tartary buckwheat hull than in normal tartary buckwheat at the early hull development stages. Among them, the expression of 17 SCW biosynthesis relative-hub genes were further verified by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR).ConclusionsOur results showed that the lower expression of SCW biosynthesis regulatory and structural genes in rice-tartary buckwheat hull in the early development stages contributes to its easy dehulling by reducing the content of cell wall chemical components, which further effects the cell wall thickness of hull sclerenchyma cells, and hull thickness and mechanical strength.

Making life look and taste better

Making life look and taste better

Nutrient composition databases in the age of big data: foodDB, a comprehensive, real-time database infrastructure.

ObjectivesTraditional methods for creating food composition tables struggle to cope with the large number of products and the rapid pace of change in the food and drink marketplace. This paper introduces foodDB, a big data approach to the analysis of this marketplace, and presents analyses illustrating its research potential.DesignfoodDB has been used to collect data weekly on all foods and drinks available on six major UK supermarket websites since November 2017. As of June 2018, foodDB has 3 193 171 observations of 128 283 distinct food and drink products measured at multiple timepoints.MethodsWeekly extraction of nutrition and availability data of products was extracted from the webpages of the supermarket websites. This process was automated with a codebase written in Python.ResultsAnalyses using a single weekly timepoint of 97 368 total products in March 2018 identified 2699 ready meals and pizzas, and showed that lower price ready meals had significantly lower levels of fat, saturates, sugar and salt (p<0.001). Longitudinal analyses of 903 pizzas revealed that 10.8% changed their nutritional formulation over 6 months, and 29.9% were either discontinued or new market entries.ConclusionsfoodDB is a powerful new tool for monitoring the food and drink marketplace, the comprehensive sampling and granularity of collection provides power for revealing analyses of the relationship between nutritional quality and marketing of branded foods, timely observation of product reformulation and other changes to the food marketplace.

Serving up graduates

Serving up graduates

A Study on Importance-Performance of Food Culture Festival’s Food Marketplace: Foused on Wanju WildFoods Festival

A Study on Importance-Performance of Food Culture Festival’s Food Marketplace: Foused on Wanju WildFoods Festival

Fast food in the diet: Implications and solutions for families

Fast food is omnipresent in the United States (U.S.) and contributes to poor dietary quality and poor health among youth and adults alike. Children need adults to teach them good eating habits to attain and maintain good health by introducing them to healthful foods and being good role models. The fast food industry, through vast funds and advertising, contribute to challenges parents face to provide healthful foods for their families and thwart our best efforts to meet health goals. Research shows fast food consumption is influenced by lack of cooking confidence, time pressures, and perceptions of ease and convenience. We need practical strategies to help parents and children make healthier food choices. As a product of conference proceedings, this paper provides a non-exhaustive narrative summary of the fast food marketplace and marketing, the contributions of fast food to diet and health, struggles with healthful eating among families, and possible solutions of how we can help children and parents empower themselves to have healthier lives.

Polyphenol-enriched berry extracts naturally modulate reactive proteins in model foods.

Healthy foods like polyphenol-rich berries and high quality edible proteins are in demand in today's functional food marketplace, but it can be difficult to formulate convenient food products with physiologically-relevant amounts of these ingredients and still maintain product quality. In part, this is because proteins can interact with other food ingredients and precipitate destabilizing events, which can disrupt food structure and diminish shelf life. Proteins in foods can also interact with human receptors to provoke adverse consequences such as allergies. When proteins and polyphenols were pre-aggregated into stable colloidal particles prior to use as ingredients, highly palatable food formulations (with reduced astringency of polyphenols) could be prepared, and the overall structural properties of food formulations were significantly improved. All of the nutritive and phytoactive benefits of the proteins and concentrated polyphenols remained highly bioavailable, but the protein molecules in the particle matrix did not self-aggregate into networks or react with other food ingredients. Both the drainage half-life (a marker of structural stability) and the yield stress (resistance to flow) of model foams made with the protein-polyphenol particles were increased in a dose-dependent manner. Of high significance in this complexation process, the reactive allergenic epitopes of certain proteins were effectively blunted by binding with polyphenols, attenuating the allergenicity of the food proteins. Porcine macrophages produced TNF-α proinflammatory cytokine when provoked with whey protein, but, this response was blocked completely when the cells were stimulated with particles that complexed whey protein with cinnamon-derived polyphenols. Cytokine and chemokine production characteristic of allergic reactions were blocked by the polyphenols, allowing for the potential creation of hypoallergenic protein-berry polyphenol enriched foods.

Selection of key foods for the systematic management of a food and nutrient composition database.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESFood composition databases are necessary for assessing dietary intakes. Developing and maintaining a high quality database is difficult because of the high cost of analyzing nutrient profiles and the recent fast-changing food marketplace. Thus, priorities have to be set for developing and updating the database. We aimed to identify key foods in the Korean diet to set priorities for future analysis of foods.SUBJECTS/METHODSmodified the US Department of Agriculture's key food approach. First, major foods were analyzed, contributing to 75%, 80%, 85%, or 90% of each nutrient intake. Second, the cumulative contributions to nutrient intakes were compared before and after excluding the foods least commonly consumed by individuals. Third, total nutrient score for each food was calculated by summing all percent contributions times 100 for nutrients. To set priorities among the foods in the list, we sorted the score in descending order and then compared total percent contributions of foods, within the 100, 90, 85, 80, and 75 percentiles of the list. Finally, we selected the minimum list of foods contributing to at least 90% of the key nutrient intake as key items for analysis.RESULTSAmong the 1,575 foods consumed by individuals, 456 were selected as key foods. Those foods were chosen as items above the 80 percentile of the total nutrient score, among the foods contributing at least 85% of any nutrient intake. On an average, the selected key foods contributed to more than 90% of key nutrient intake.CONCLUSIONSIn total, 456 foods, contributing at least 90% of the key nutrient intake, were selected as key foods. This approach to select a minimum list of key foods will be helpful for systematically updating and revising food composition databases.

Food retail assessment and family food purchase behavior in Ashongman estates, Ghana

A key feature of the nutrition transition in developed countries is the rapid transformation of the food system towards increasing availability and access to cheaper, and more processed foods. These changes are associated with alterations in dietary behavior with implications for chronic disease risk. However, the process of change in the food system begins with changes in the food retail system and its subsequent effect on consumer behavior. Currently, little is known about the nature of the food marketplace in emerging economies like Ghana, and also how the changing economy and food retail situation are influencing consumer behavior. The current paper presents a case study of the food retail system and consumer food purchase behavior in suburban Accra. Between May and August 2012, an assessment of food retail outlets was carried out in Ashongman Estates, a suburb of Accra. The study involved observations, in-depth interviews with retailers, and a survey of households. Data from the study allowed classification of retail food vendors across the urban food retail system. In addition, data on food purchase preferences and purchase behavior were obtained from a household survey of 75 randomly selected households in Ashongman Estates. The data showed that traditional markets still constitute the most important source of household food purchases. A majority of households (87%) reported preference for traditional markets, and almost all households (99%) indicated traditional markets as their main source for purchasing household food. Foods available from supermarkets were mainly processed foods. However, processed foods are also commonly available through the traditional markets and minimarkets. The preference for traditional markets was attributed to greater variety of foods, lower price, and proximity of food source. Minimarket vendors, including corner stores, table top vendors, hawkers, and fuel station shops that are located within the community, served as an additional food source, complementing food purchases from the traditional markets. The study concluded that although traditional markets remain the main source of household food, interventions are needed to ensure that food markets in the community include access to a variety of fresh produce rather than promote processed foods, in order to promote consumer health. Key words: Food environment, traditional market, retail, supermarket, minimarkets, suburban food market

Becoming ecological citizens: connecting people through performance art, food matter and practices.

Engaging the interest of Western citizens in the complex food connections that shape theirs’ and others’ personal wellbeing around issues such as food security and access is challenging. This article is critical of the food marketplace as the site for informing consumer behaviour and argues instead for arts-based participatory activities to support the performance of ecological citizens in non-commercial spaces. Following the ongoing methodological and conceptual fascination with performance, matter and practice in cultural food studies, we outline what the ecological citizen, formed through food’s agentive potential, does and could do. This is an ecological citizen, defined not in its traditional relation to the state but rather to the world of humans and non-humans whose lives are materially interconnected through nourishment. The article draws on the theories of Berlant, Latour, Bennett and Massumi. Our methodology is a collaborative arts-led research project that explored and juxtaposed diverse food practices with artist Paul Hurley, researchers, community partners, volunteers and participants in Bristol, UK. It centred on a 10-day exhibition where visitors were exposed to a series of interactive explorations with and about food. Our experience leads us to outline two steps for enacting ecological citizenship. The first step is to facilitate sensory experiences that enable the agential qualities of foodstuffs to shape knowledge making. The second is to create a space where people can perform, or relate differently, in unusual manners to food. Through participating in the project and visiting the exhibition, people were invited to respond not only as ‘ethical consumers’ but also as ‘ecological citizens’. This participatory approach to research can contribute to understandings of human-world entanglements.

Our Apples are Healthier than your Apples: Deciphering the Healthiness Bias for Domestic and Foreign Products

This study extends previous research by exploring perceptions of healthiness in the international food marketplace. To this end, it aims to fill an important gap by shedding light on the role of country of origin in shaping perceptions of healthiness. The authors provide evidence that domestic and foreign food products elicit different perceptions of healthiness. Consumers choose domestic products because they perceive them as healthier and more natural. The effect holds across different samples and product categories (apples, tomatoes, bread, and yogurt). However, this healthiness bias vanishes when products are presented as posing health risks and when products are introduced with a dual identity (i.e., both foreign and domestic). Researching these health-related effects helps provide a better understanding of consumer attitudes toward domestic- versus foreign-made food products.

Avaliação da ação de uma virose na produção e qualidade de tubérculos de batata-doce

O oeste do estado de São Paulo responde por cerca de 40% da produção estadual de batata-doce, mesmo sem a adoção, pelos agricultores da região, de tecnologias fundamentais para o aumento da produtividade. Este trabalho avaliou o impacto de viroses sobre variáveis da produção de batata-doce. O experimento foi conduzido em área comercial no município de Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brasil, utilizando plantas de Ipomoea batatas L, grupo rosada, cv. Canadense. Como material de propagação foram utilizadas mudas livres de vírus produzidas em viveiros e mudas originadas de lavoura comercial infectada por vírus. Na colheita foram demarcadas três parcelas de 10 x 4 m em cada uma das metades do campo (com e sem vírus), quando se avaliou, aleatoriamente, número, massa, comprimento e diâmetro dos tubérculos de dez plantas localizadas na área central de cada parcela. As parcelas sem vírus produziram cerca de 50% a mais e o dobro em massa (kg) de tubérculos colhidos em relação aos provenientes das parcelas com vírus. Os tubérculos obtidos das plantas não infectadas apresentaram maior massa (p &lt; 0,01), comprimento (p &lt; 0,01) e diâmetro médio (p &lt; 0,05) do que os colhidos das plantas infectadas. Foi constatada também uma frequência de 65% de tubérculos com classificação 2A (150 a 299 g) para o grupo rosada-CEAGESP, que representa 70% do volume comercializado no CEAGESP, o que confere maior lucratividade ao produtor.

Bio-politicizing consumption: neo-liberal consumerism and disembodiment in the food marketplace

ABSTRACTHow consumerism proliferates in society is central to consumer culture studies, yet little research has examined the power of consumerist discourses in shaping consumption at the intersection of marketing with State regulation. Drawing on Foucault's notions of governmentality and bio-power, a discourse analysis is conducted of food date labeling regulation. The study problematizes how labeling actualizes a form of neo-liberal consumerism within manufacturing and retail in which consumption is enacted as a site of bio-political control. Labeling, it is argued, fosters unsustainable excess consumption in the name of life and health of people by temporalizing and standardizing consumption, as well as disembodying the marketplace as an area for knowledge creation in consumption. Accordingly, the study discusses two processes “bio-politicizing” consumption that seek to dispense responsibility and re-distribute embodied consumption competence. Finally, it highlights the potential in people to resist such consumerism by developing alternative subjectivities and embodiments in the marketplace.