Italian Food Products Research Articles

Exploring how to use virtual tours to create an interactive customer remote experience

This paper investigates the use of Virtual Reality (VR) to develop virtual tour applications for marketing purposes. The aim is to explore how virtual technologies can support the creation of knowledge about a specific food product and the achievement of user engagement by a multi-sensory virtual tour of the real production site. The study provides design guidelines to create a valuable, multisensory experience by VR tours and demonstrate how the adoption of a user-driven approach, instead of a technology-driven approach, allows to achieve a positive intention to buy. The case study was represented by one of the excellences among Italian food products, the Parmigiano Reggiano (PR) cheese. The PR virtual tour was validated by a user testing campaign, involving more than 70 users: users’ reactions and feedback were collected by human physiological data monitoring and questionnaires’ administration. The research results demonstrated how virtual technologies could effectively help people to create a solid knowledge about a food product to support the marketing process and to form an intention to buy thanks to a better understanding of the quality of the local and traditional productions.

Testing the Feasibility and Dietary Impact of Macaroni Fortified with Green Tea and Turmeric Curcumin Extract in Diabetic Rats.

Macaroni is a commercially available Italian food product that is popular among consumers around the world. The supplementation of green tea extract (GTE) and turmeric curcumin extract (TCE) in macaroni may serve as promising and beneficial bioactive ingredients. We aimed to produce functional macaroni, assess the degree of consumer satisfaction and study the antidiabetic activity in diabetic rats. In this study, macaroni was fortified with GTE, TCE and a mixture of GTE and TCE ratio of 1:1, w/w (GTE/TCE). The resulting products were then analyzed in terms of their chemical compositions, while the degree of consumer satisfaction was monitored and the hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects in streptozotocin (STZ)-rats were investigated. GTE/TCE-M exhibited the strongest antioxidant activity (p < 0.05), while phenolics were most abundant in GTE-M. The overall preference for GTE-M, TCE-M and GTE/TCE-M were within ranges of 4.7-5.1, 5.9-6.7 and 6.2-8.2, respectively, in the nine-point hedonic scale. Consumption of these three preparations of macaroni (30 and 300 mg/kg each) neither decreased nor exacerbated increasing blood glucose levels in diabetic rats, while GTE-M (30 mg/kg) tended to lower increased serum triglyceride and cholesterol levels. In conclusion, GTE/TCE-M containing high amounts of bioactive EGCG and curcumin exerted the strongest degree of antioxidant activity and received the highest level of acceptance. Importantly, consumption of GTE-M tentatively ameliorated serum lipid abnormalities in diabetic STZ-induced rats by inhibiting lipase digestion and lipid absorption. Herein, we are proposing that GTE-fortified macaroni is a functional food that can mitigate certain metabolic syndromes.

It Seems Italian, Doesn't It? An Exploratory Analysis of English and Spanish Consumers about Italian Appearance Food Products.

The Italian export of agri-food products has been increasingly threatened by the unfair use of misleading Italian symbols (such as the national flag or the green-white-red colors) by non-Italian producers. This research paper investigated what English and Spanish consumers know about “Made in Italy” food, and their attitude towards Italian appearance food products. Primary data were collected in Spain and England, and a probit model was used to identify the determinants of consumers’ vulnerability to misleading Italian symbols. We found that merely having Italian symbols on the package might lead almost half of the consumers in the sample to consider food as Made in Italy, regardless of the actual origin. This result confirms the severity of the problem. The econometric model provides suggestions for public actions to mitigate the issue.

Sustainable Business Model Innovation vs. “Made in” for International Performance of Italian Food Companies

The quality of Italian food products, linked to Made in, has always been a competitive driver within foreign markets. However, today, getting quality choices also means engaging in responsible behavior. The paper investigates the relation between the choice of environmental and social standards and the international performance of a set of agri-food firms in Italy, examined through the multiple case study method and the tools of qualitative methodology. What role do standards play in attributing an added value to the quality of agroindustry products and differentiating sustainable products in foreign markets, thereby improving the international performance of the companies? These questions are investigated by the research in this paper. The results of the research show a significant correlation, in the interviewed companies, between corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices, with reference to the adoption of standards, and international competitiveness, measured in terms of market performance as it regards the growth of foreign demand and opening to new markets.

Listeria monocytogenes clones in Italian food products: virulence and environmental adaptation

Abstract Background Food is the main source of Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) infection. Lm is a highly heterogeneous species composed of hypervirulent and hypovirulent clones. Understanding the distribution of Lm clonal complexes (CCs) in different food categories has strong implications for risk assessment. The aim of this work was to analyse collection of Lm strains of National Reference Laboratory (NRL Lm) in order to assess link between genetic profile and matrices and the level of pathogenicity of circulating strains based on CCs. Methods NRL Lm database actually consists of 906 sequenced strains isolated in 10 years from 5 food compartments (meat, fish, dairy, vegetables and composite dishes). Epidata were analysed to remove redundant strains based on the same epidemiological description. After that, WGS data from 465 Lm strains were investigated. In silico MLST was defined and Roary 3.12.0 was used to obtain a pan-genome profile. Genes were later uploaded to Pasteur Institute platform for characterization. Results In silico MLST identified 36 CCs and 6 singleton. CC9 (23.0%), CC8 (15.3%) and CC121 (13.3%) were the prevalent CCs. In particular, CC9 was present in 35.2% of meat samples and CC8 in 25.8% of fish samples. Pan genome profile revealed high prevalence (&amp;gt;98%) of genes related to biofilm formation and resistance to environmental stress in CC9 strains and genes involved in tolerance to quaternary ammonium compounds in CC121 strains. Conclusions Results, in particular for meat products, confirmed in Italy, the prevalence of hypovirulent Lm strains previously observed at European Union level. The high presence of stress resistance and disinfectant tolerance genes in these strains could make them able to persist in food-production environment and should be taken into account evaluating the health hazards. In fish product is also relevant the prevalence of CC8 strains which are potentially highly pathogenic and have been responsible of recent European multi country outbreak. Key messages Pangenome of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from Italian food revealed high presence of disinfectant tolerance and stress resistance genes in meat products and virulence genes in fish products. Listeria monocytogenes CC9 and CC121 prevalence in Italian meat product confirms occurrence of hypovirulent strains detected at European Union level.

Exploring the potential of NIR hyperspectral imaging for automated quantification of rind amount in grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Parmigiano Reggiano (P-R) is one of the most important Italian food products labelled with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO). The PDO denomination is applied also to grated P-R cheese products meeting the requirements regulated by the Specifications of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese. Different quality parameters are monitored, including the percentage of rind, which is edible and should not exceed the limit of 18% (w/w). The present study aims at evaluating the possibility of using near infrared hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) to quantify the rind percentage in grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese samples in a fast and non-destructive manner. Indeed, NIR-HSI allows the simultaneous acquisition of both spatial and spectral information from a sample, which is more suitable than classical single-point spectroscopy for the analysis of heterogeneous samples like grated cheese. Hyperspectral images of grated P-R cheese samples containing increasing levels of rind were acquired in the 900–1700 nm spectral range. Each hyperspectral image was firstly converted into a one-dimensional signal, named hyperspectrogram, which codifies the relevant information contained in the image. Then, the matrix of hyperspectrograms was used to calculate a calibration model for the prediction of the rind percentage using Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression. The calibration model was validated considering two external test sets of samples, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Consumer preferences for Made in Italy food products: The role of ethnocentrism and product knowledge

The present study focuses on “Made in Italy” food products and it investigates the barriers affecting the consumption of Italian products sold by speciality retailers on the German market. To reach this goal, we referred to existing literature which identifies the factors that limit the use of public quality of origin standards, related to socio-demographic factors, consumer ethnocentrism, and product knowledge. Data is collected by means of a survey questionnaire administered face-to-face to a sample of 203 consumers. Data is analysed by means of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and regression models. Results indicate that ethnocentrism tendencies may prevent consumers to shop at speciality retailers and that building consumer knowledge about products may increase the purchase of authentic Italian food products, especially among the consumers that are less ethnocentric, helping to support the market position of “Made in Italy” products.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Italian preserved food products in oil

ABSTRACTA method based on gas chromatography/ tandem mass spectrometry was used to assess levels of 16 EU priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in 48 preserved food products in oil including foods such as vegetables in oil, fish in oil and oil-based sauces obtained from the Italian market. The benzo[a]pyrene concentrations ranged from <0.04 to 0.40 µg kg−1, and 72.9% of the samples showed detectable levels of this compound. The highest contamination level was observed for chrysene with three additional PAHs (benzo[a]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[c]fluorene) giving mean values higher than the mean value for benzo[a]pyrene. Chrysene was detected in all the samples at concentrations ranging from 0.07 to 1.80 µg kg−1 (median 0.31 µg kg−1). The contamination expressed as PAH4 (sum of benzo(a)pyrene, chrysene, benzo(a)anthracene and benzo(b)fluoranthene), for which the maximum tolerable limit has been set by Commission Regulation (EU) No. 835/2011, varied between 0.10 and 2.94 µg kg−1.

Statistical Analysis of Mineral Concentration for the Geographic Identification of Garlic Samples from Sicily (Italy), Tunisia and Spain.

We performed a statistical analysis of the concentration of mineral elements, by means of inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), in different varieties of garlic from Spain, Tunisia, and Italy. Nubia Red Garlic (Sicily) is one of the most known Italian varieties that belongs to traditional Italian food products (P.A.T.) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Forestry. The obtained results suggest that the concentrations of the considered elements may serve as geographical indicators for the discrimination of the origin of the different samples. In particular, we found a relatively high content of Selenium in the garlic variety known as Nubia red garlic, and, indeed, it could be used as an anticarcinogenic agent.

(1)H HR-MAS NMR Spectroscopy and the Metabolite Determination of Typical Foods in Mediterranean Diet.

NMR spectroscopy has become an experimental technique widely used in food science. The experimental procedures that allow precise and quantitative analysis on different foods are relatively simple. For a better sensitivity and resolution, NMR spectroscopy is usually applied to liquid sample by means of extraction procedures that can be addressed to the observation of particular compounds. For the study of semisolid systems such as intact tissues, High-Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HR-MAS) has received great attention within the biomedical area and beyond. Metabolic profiling and metabolism changes can be investigated both in animal organs and in foods. In this work we present a proton HR-MAS NMR study on the typical vegetable foods of Mediterranean diet such as the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) cherry tomato of Pachino, the PGI Interdonato lemon of Messina, several Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) extra virgin olive oils from Sicily, and the Traditional Italian Food Product (PAT) red garlic of Nubia. We were able to identify and quantify the main metabolites within the studied systems that can be used for their characterization and authentication.

Chemistry of Medicinal Plants, Foods, and Natural Products 2015.

Chemistry of Medicinal Plants, Foods, and Natural Products 2015.

Microbiological Quality of Burrata Cheese Produced in Puglia Region: Southern Italy

Burrata cheese is a popular typical Italian food product, produced in Puglia (an administrative region of southern Italy), and this study investigated the microbiological quality of 404 samples of this cheese. The samples were analyzed in order to quantify Escherichia coli and to detect the presence of Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella spp., and Listeria monocytogenes. No sample exceeded the values of E. coli set by EC Regulation 1441/07 for some dairy products, while 15 (3.7%) samples tested coagulase-positive staphylococci positive, with values greater than 10(3) CFU/g. One strain of S. aureus was identified and characterized from each of these positive samples, and of these strains, 7 (46.6%) produced staphylococcal enterotoxin A, 5 (33.3%) produced staphylococcal enterotoxin C, 2 (13.3%) produced staphylococcal enterotoxin D, and 1 (6.6%) produced both staphylococcal enterotoxins A and D. All strains were mecA negative. The 15 S. aureus isolates were tested for their antimicrobial resistance patterns, and all analyzed strains showed antimicrobial resistance properties for at least one of the tested antibiotics. Testing for the other pathogens mentioned above gave negative results. The results of our study mean that the microbiological quality of Burrata cheese can be assumed to be good, although care must be taken with raw materials and good hygiene during processing in order to guarantee greater food safety.

Spectrophotometric Qualification of Italian Pasta Produced by Traditional or Industrial Production Parameters

Wheat durum pasta represents one of the most typical Italian food products. Many factories realize different class products regarding the use of organic wheat or not and the application of traditional or industrial production parameters. Being not subordinate to regulations, these classifications are only indicative of the real processes representing different quantitative levels for the same class. Aim of this study is to set up a rapid and nondestructive method to distinguish between different declared production parameters of pasta brands (spaghetti) such as industrial (high temperature, short-time drying, Teflon drawn) and traditional (low temperature, long-time drying, bronze drawn) processes and the use of organic wheat or not. A hyperspectral system operating within visible and near-infrared spectra was used to acquire images of spaghetti bundles (of two different years). Hyperspectral information was statistically analyzed by multivariate provisional soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA). The results report a percentage of correct classification equal to 75.3 % for the first year and to 73.9 % for the second year. For both sampling years, all the traditional brands are the most distant from the origin (i.e., full industrial model). The Spearman's cross-correlation test performed on the SIMCA distances indicates a statistically significant correlation between the 2 years of analysis confirming the system repeatability. The results demonstrate that the differentiation of pasta does not depend only on the raw material (i.e., organic and not) but also on the times and types of processing (i.e., short- and long-time drying, bronze or Teflon wire drawing).

Preliminary evaluation of probiotic potential of Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from Italian food products

The aim of this study was to investigate some probiotic properties of 42 wild Lactobacillus plantarum strains isolated from different Italian foods of animal origin. The strains were first screened for their antibiotic resistance profile (chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, and tetracycline), subsequently they were tested for their in vitro resistance to lysozyme (100 mg L⁻¹), low pH (3.0, 2.5 and 2.0) and bile salts (0.3, 0.5 and 1.0 %). Moreover, agglutination property was studied (adhesion to Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells), as well as the presence of bsh and msa genes. The strains with the best characteristics were subjected to a further trial in order to evaluate their ability to survive to multiple stresses over time (lysozyme, low pH and bile salts) and the effect of these treatments on adhesion to yeast cells. All the strains were susceptible to chloramphenicol, erythromycin and gentamicin, while 6 strains were excluded from further evaluation because of their resistant phenotype against tetracycline. All the strains were able to grow in presence of lysozyme, as well as in MRS broth at pH 3.0. Only 4 strains showed a growth rate lower than 80 % when grown in MRS broth at pH 2.5, while a relevant growth rate decrease was observed after exposure to pH 2.0. Bile salts didn't affect the viability of the L. plantarum cells. Twenty-one strains out of 33 tested strains were able to adhere to S. cerevisiae cells. Presence of both bsh and msa genes was detected in 6 strains. The strains resistant to all the stresses, positive to agglutination with S. cerevisiae and showing bsh and msa genes were selected for further evaluation and subjected to different stress treatments over time. The assessment of growth rates showed that exposure to lysozyme significantly increased low pH resistance in L. plantarum. This increase ranged from 2.35 to 15.57 %. The consequential lysozyme and low pH exposures didn't affect the growth rate values after bile salts treatment, as well as the ability of the strains to adhere to yeast cells wasn't modified by previous treatments (lysozyme, low pH and bile salts). The present work allows to increase knowledge about non starter lactic acid bacteria from Italian food products. The studied L. plantarum strains showed a good potential for their use as probiotic cultures. However, more in vivo tests are necessary to confirm this potentiality.

Developing a tool for intellectual capital assessment: an individual‐level perspective

AbstractThis paper aims to develop a model for assessing and valuing the intellectual capital of an organization by gathering data from individual employees. Also, the paper empirically investigates the relationship between intellectual capital and a specific dimension of employees’ performance. Two surveys were conducted on employees of a leading company in the Italian food product market. The sample analysed comprises 1117 observations. A structural equation modelling (SEM) methodology was used to define the measurement model and to determine the relations between intellectual capital and employees’ performance. The model for intellectual capital assessment developed in this paper may integrate already existing intellectual capital frameworks. The three dimensions of intellectual capital identified mutually affect and have a positive effect on employees’ performance. Our findings contribute to the discussion in the promising research stream of intellectual capital management. As limitations, this study focuses on a single company, and it exclusively adopts individual‐level perceptual indicators. These elements make it difficult for any inter‐company comparison.

Il sistema agroalimentare ed il consumatore postmoderno: nuove sfide per la ricerca e per il mercato

The paper is an attempt to analyze the role of consumers and some of the most important trends in the food systemin the Eght of a new interpretative key that refers to the concept of postmodernity which has been generated in the field of sociology and progressively outlined from the first 80s. In postmodern society the act of consumption becomes an expression of culture and identity creation, products as material objects lose their importance and they become marks, symbols and a way to communicate personality. These phenomenons are difficult to interpret with the standard theory of neoclassical consumer, although several attempts in this direction have been carried out. For example, the proposal to introduce a function of happiness to express the features and behavior of the postmodern consumer is a possibility to be explored but certainly not yet a new theory. In the first part of the report the concept of postmodernism, its origin and evolution is discussed. Later, in the light of this new interpretative key the changing role of the consumer is analyzed. Finally, as case studies, the strategies of modern distribution and the problem oftypical Italian food products in foreign markets are also discussed. All the analysed cases, illustrate very well the traditional rules can lead to political intervention pontentially erroneous, as for example, an excess of expenditure in food safety policy or policies of the national mark.

"Per Voi, Signore": Gendered Representations of Fashion, Food, and Fascism in Il Progresso Italo-Americano during the 1930s

IN APRIL OF 1935, Il Progresso Italo-Americano, the largest Italianlanguage newspaper in the United States, ran an advertisement for Florio brand marsala, an Italian fortified wine from Sicily. The advertisement featured an illustration of three incredulous looking men gawking at the body of a fashionable, but scantily clad, thin woman in lingerie. One of the men asked the lady, “At this age how do you conserve the beautiful complexion of a young girl?” The key to her girlish physique, the woman responded, is drinking eggnog every morning made with Florio’s marsala, “which nourishes me, without making me gain weight, and keeps my body slim and my spirit awakened.” This advertisement for an imported Italian food product, appearing in the Italian-language press, promoted a particular type of fashionand weight-conscious femininity valued in the U.S., yet reviled by fascists in Italy during the 1930s. These contradictory messages about womanhood and the consumption of food and fashion reveal how habits and identities changed as people and products moved back and forth across the ocean. That a figure no less than Benito Mussolini provided monetary support to immigrant papers like Il Progresso Italo-Americano, which included images of slender, consumerist women, while at the same time rejecting this American model for Italian women in Italy, demonstrates that Italian nationalists valued, yet sent mixed-messages to, Italian women consumers both at home and abroad. The disconnect between images of femininity and consumption in the Italian American commercial press and those in fascist Italy illustrates the peculiar position women held as symbols through which immigrants in the U.S. formed national and consumer identities during the 1930s. This article compares literature about, and advertisements for, fashionable clothing and food products—the most visible commodities represented and discussed in Il Progresso Italo-Americano’s women’s pages—to elucidate the paradoxical representations of women’s consumer and national identities in Italian American newspapers during the 1930s. By juxtaposing this

Identification of tetracycline‐ and erythromycin‐resistant Gram‐positive cocci within the fermenting microflora of an Italian dairy food product

Microbiological and molecular analysis of antibiotic resistance in Gram-positive cocci derived from the Italian PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) dairy food product Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. One hundred and seven coccal colonies were assigned to Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus bovis genera by ARDRA analysis (amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis). Among them, 16 Ent. faecalis, 26 L. lactis and 39 Strep. bovis displayed high minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values for tetracycline, while 17 L. lactis showed high MIC values for both tetracycline and erythromycin. Strain typing and molecular analysis of the phenotypically resistant isolates demonstrated the presence of the tet(M) gene in the tetracycline-resistant strains and of tet(S) and erm(B) in the double-resistant strains. Southern blot analysis revealed plasmid localization of L. lactis tet(M), as well as of the erm(B) and tet(S) genes. Genetic linkage of erm(B) and tet(S) was also demonstrated by PCR amplification. Conjugation experiments demonstrated horizontal transfer to Ent. faecalis strain JH2-2 only for the plasmid-borne L. lactis tet(M) gene. We characterized tetracycline-and erythromycin-resistance genes in coccal species, representing the fermenting microflora of a typical Italian dairy product. These results are of particular relevance from the food safety viewpoint, especially in the light of the potential risk of horizontal transfer of antibiotic-resistance genes among foodborne commensal bacteria.

Identification of Tetracycline and Erythromycin Resistant Gram-positive Cocci within the fermenting microflora of an Italian Dairy Food Product

Identification of Tetracycline and Erythromycin Resistant Gram-positive Cocci within the fermenting microflora of an Italian Dairy Food Product

Positioning and Competitiveness of Producers of Balsamic Vinegar of Modena

The balsamic vinegar of Modena (BVM) is one of the most popular among the emerging Italian food products worldwide. This industry is characterised by a strong heterogeneity of the operators and by a relevant growth of sales and export. This paper first describes the main features of the market environment and the factors allowing all the BVM producers to gain a competitive advantage and their ability to compete. Second, a perceptual competitiveness map of BVM industry describing the competitive environment and highlighting the competitive factors managed by the enterprises are drawn using discriminant analysis. Cluster analysis is also applied to group the operators according to their position in the marketplace and to their competitive features. The study is useful to identify new opportunities for company differentiation and potential market niches or market segments with a lower level of competition. The analysis highlights that there is a low level of differentiation amongst the competitive arena, and the opportunities for differentiation appears linked to the following main drivers: an increased perceived level of quality, the introduction of an innovative products, the management of the price level and the identification of new attractive markets.