Milk Desserts Research Articles

Comparison of intensity scales and CATA questions in new product development: Sensory characterisation and directions for product reformulation of milk desserts

Product development and product optimisation are important activities for all food companies. The methodologies applied for uncovering consumers’ perception during product development are diverse, but many of them share the common underlying assumption that an ideal product exists. One possible approach for product optimisation consists of asking consumers to describe the sensory characteristics of tasted and ideal products. In the Ideal Profile Method (IPM) consumers use intensity scales to describe products. However, this approach can be tedious for consumers when a large number of attributes are considered. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions have been reported to be a simple alternative to gather information about consumers’ perception of the sensory characteristics of products and have been previously used to identify ideal products. In this context, the aim of the present work was to compare intensity scales and CATA questions using a case study with vanilla milk desserts. Nine samples of vanilla milk desserts were formulated using a fractional factorial design. A trained assessors’ panel evaluated samples using descriptive analysis. A consumer study with 200 participants was carried out. Consumers were randomly divided into 2 groups: one group evaluated the samples and described their ideal using intensity scales and the second group used CATA questions. Data were analysed using multivariate techniques and partial least squares regression. Results showed that both CATA questions intensity scales provided similar information to descriptive analysis with trained assessors. Sample configurations, description of the ideal product, drivers of liking and directions for product reformulation were similar for both approaches.

Check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions for sensory product characterization by consumers: Investigations into the number of terms used in CATA questions

In recent years methodological research into application of CATA questions has gained momentum. Yet, key questions for this approach remain unaddressed – how to generate the sensory terms that populate CATA questions and how many terms should be used. The second of these questions was addressed in seven consumer studies, involving a total of 735 consumers and five product categories (crackers, cheese, fruit-flavored drinks, chocolate, milk desserts). Sensory product characterizations elicited with “short” and “long” CATA questions (10–17 terms vs. 20–28 terms) were compared on a number of criteria such as frequency of CATA term use, product differences, spatial configurations (samples and terms) and task perceptions. Two strategies for generating “long” lists of CATA terms were examined: adding synonym terms to those already featuring on the “short” list (e.g., ‘hard’ and ‘firm’), and adding antonym terms to those already featuring on the “short” list (e.g., ‘hard’ and ‘not hard’ or ‘natural’ and ‘artificial’). Between-subjects experimental designs were used to compare product characterizations from “short” and “long” CATA questions. Results revealed that “short” and “long” lists of CATA terms generated largely similar results. In general, sample configurations were very similar, as were task perceptions. However, there were, at times, differences in frequency of CATA term use and term configurations, as well as instances where conclusions about sample differences depended on whether “short” or “long” CATA lists were used. Additionally, here was some evidence that CATA questions with “long” lists of synonym or antonym terms may cause a “dilution” effect of the responses. This fits expectations of idiosyncrasy in consumer perception/expression of sensory stimuli, but may be associated with reduced discriminatory ability of the CATA question. How to best balance these opposing considerations is deserving of further investigation.

Effect of Taro Starch-Hydrocolloids Mixture as a Functional Ingredient on the Quality of Milk Dessert

The study was carried out to investigate the effect of taro starch-hydrocolloids mixture on the physical and sensory properties of milk dessert. Four different hydrocolloid i.e. arabic, Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), guar and xanthan gums were mixed with taro starch in different concentration and their potential use in milk dessert as functional ingredients were evaluated. Physical and sensory characteristics were found to be considerably improved in different aspects by adding these functional ingredients. Taro starch-arabic gum blend was observed to be an effective additive to produce creamy texture of milk dessert. Syneresis from dessert was noted to be diminished and sensory characteristics were also found to be improved by adding taro starch-guar gum blend. Similarly, taro starch-xanthan gum blend has effectively been stabilized the texture and sensory properties of milk dessert.

Traditional practices related to breast milk and breastfeeding of mothers with babies of 6-18 months

OBJECTIVE: This research was made in order to determine the traditional practices related to breast milk and breastfeeding of mothers with babies of 6 to 18 months. METHODS : Mothers, who are registered to the Family Health Center in Ezine district in Canakkale from September 2012 to February 2013 constituted the research’s system, those mothers having babies from 6 to 18 months. 212 mothers that accepted to attend to the study were obtained to research’s sample. The research’s dates were gathered by the researchers with the survey form that was done face to face. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square, frequency and average were used in data analysis. RESULTS: The mean age of mothers was 28.47±4.71, 82.5% were housewives, 51.4% were literate/primary school graduates, 75.5% had middle income and 53.8% live in town. 85.4% of mothers think breast milk is enough for the first six months. Food which mothers think increases breast milk are 58% milk desserts, 42% onion/garlic, 16.6% wheat, 16.5% dried grape, 11.3% cowpea. Drinks that are thought to increase breast milk are %57.5 herbal teas, %50.5 water, %38.2 milk. Traditional practices to increase breast milk are 29.7% frequent lactating, 23.1% affixing an annulet, 23.1% drinking liquids a lot. The average lactating period of mothers is 12.61 ± 4.31 month, 13.2% of mothers separate their babies from the breasts. When mothers’ separation methods from breast are examined, giving additional food by baby bottle (25.3%), putting of with water and fruit juice (14%), spreading tomato paste on the breasts(10%), putting hair (10%), spreading black color (8.7%), sending the baby to another house (%8.7) such traditional practices are observed. CONCLUSION: This study showed that mothers for increasing breast milk and separating their babies from the breast mothers’ applying for traditional practices. Thus, it would be important that nurses and midwifes should evaluate these practices and should keep the individual and cultural characteristics of mothers during their educations in mind.

Snacking patterns, diet quality, and cardiovascular risk factors in adults.

BackgroundThe relationship of snacking patterns on nutrient intake and cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF) in adults is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the associations of snacking patterns with nutrient intake, diet quality, and a selection of CVRF in adults participating in the 2001-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Methods24-hour dietary recalls were used to determine intake and cluster analysis was used to identify the snacking patterns. Height and weight were obtained and the health indices that were evaluated included diastolic and systolic blood pressure, high density lipoprotein-cholesterol, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, triacylglycerides, blood glucose, and insulin.ResultsThe sample was participants (n = 18,988) 19+ years (50% males; 11% African-Americans; 72% white, 12% Hispanic-Americans, and 5% other). Cluster analyses generated 12 distinct snacking patterns, explaining 61% of the variance in snacking. Comparisons of snacking patterns were made to the no snack pattern. It was found that miscellaneous snacks constituted the most common snacking pattern (17%) followed by cakes/cookies/pastries (12%) and sweets (9%). Most snacking patterns were associated with higher energy intakes. Snacking patterns cakes/cookies/pastries, vegetables/legumes, crackers/salty snacks, other grains and whole fruit were associated with lower intakes of saturated fatty acids. Added sugars intakes were higher in the cakes/cookies/pastries, sweets, milk desserts, and soft drinks patterns. Five snack patterns (cakes/cookies/pastries, sweets, vegetable/legumes, milk desserts, soft drinks) were associated with lower sodium intakes. Several snack patterns were associated with higher intakes of potassium, calcium, fiber, vitamin A, and magnesium. Five snacking patterns (miscellaneous snacks; vegetables/legumes; crackers/salty snacks; other grains; and whole fruit) were associated with better diet quality scores. Alcohol was associated with a lower body mass index and milk desserts were associated with a lower waist circumference. No snack patterns were associated with other CVRF studied.ConclusionsOverall, several snacking patterns were associated with better diet quality than those consuming no snacks. Yet, the majority of the snacking patterns were not associated with CVRF. Education is needed to improve snacking patterns in terms of nutrients to limit in the diet along with more nutrient-dense foods to be included in snacks.

Evaluation of a rating-based variant of check-all-that-apply questions: Rate-all-that-apply (RATA)

The current research explored the possibility of using attribute ratings as a variant (RATA: rate-all-that-apply) to CATA questions (check-all-that-apply), in order to improve sample description and discrimination and to engage participants in greater cognitive processing. The RATA question variant was implemented by asking participants, for the terms they ticked as “apply”, to indicate intensity (using a 3-pt scale with anchors ‘low’, ‘medium’ or ‘high’) or rate applicability (using a 5-pt scale anchored at ‘slightly applicable’ and ‘very applicable’). A total of four studies with 328 consumers were conducted. Studies 1–3 involved the consumption of products (milk desserts, bread and gummy lollies), whereas Study 4 was performed with yogurt labels. A between-subjects design was used in all studies to compare product characterizations from CATA and RATA questions. Across the four studies, compared to the simple CATA questions, the RATA variant led to an increase in the total number of selected terms and a small increase in the percentage of terms for which significant differences among samples were identified. Although the stability of sample and term configurations from CATA and RATA questions, calculated using a bootstrapping re-sampling approach, were similar, for two of the four studies RATA questions provided more stable sample and term configurations. Results from the present work reveal the potential of intensity-based CATA variants with consumers for sensory product characterization, but also suggest that these may be study and sample specific.

Development of chocolate dairy dessert with addition of prebiotics and replacement of sucrose with different high-intensity sweeteners

The aims of this study were (1) to optimize the formulation of a prebiotic chocolate dairy dessert and assess the extent to which sensory properties were affected by adding different concentrations of prebiotics (inulin and fructooligosaccharides) combined with different levels of xanthan and guar gums, and (2) to analyze the ideal and relative sweetness of prebiotic chocolate milk dessert sweetened with different artificial and natural sweeteners. Acceptability was evaluated by 100 consumers using a 9-cm hedonic scale, and the level of sample creaminess was evaluated using a 9-point just-about-right (JAR) scale. Data were subjected to a multivariate regression analysis and fitted to a model provided by response surface methodology. The optimal concentrations were 7.5% (wt/wt) prebiotic and 0.20% (wt/wt) gum (guar and xanthan, in a 2:1 ratio). The ideal sweetness analysis revealed that the ideal concentration of sucrose was 8.13%. The relative sweetness analysis showed that Neotame (NutraSweet Corp., Chicago, IL) had the highest sweetening power compared with the prebiotic chocolate dairy dessert containing 8% sucrose, followed by sucralose, aspartame, and stevia. The study of sweetness in this product is important because consumers desire healthier functional products with no added sugar.

Dairy Products: How They Fit in Nutritionally Adequate Diets

Individual diet modeling with linear programming recently provided evidence that plant-based products, fish, and fresh dairy products consumption should be increased in the French population to reach nutrient-based recommendations. The aim of our study was to estimate the number of portions of the different milk-based food categories fitting into nutritionally adequate diets. Starting from the diet observed for each adult in the 1999 French Enquête Individuelle et Nationale sur les Consommations Alimentaires survey (n=1,171), an isocaloric nutritionally adequate diet was modeled that simultaneously met a whole set of nutrient constraints (based on nutrient recommendations) while deviating the least from the observed diet food content. Variations in weight, energy, and nutrients between observed and modeled diets were calculated for each food group (n=7), with a focus on milk-based products (n=4 categories). The diet optimization process increased the weights of three food groups: fruit and vegetables (+62%), starchy foods (+37%), and dairy products (+19%). Across milk-based food categories, the optimization increased yogurts (+60%) and milk (+17%) and decreased cheeses (−48%) without change to milk desserts. Cheeses represented one out of two consumed portions of milk-based products in observed diets, whereas in modeled diets cheeses, milk, and yogurts each represented about one portion per day. Milk desserts were similar before and after optimization, at approximately one portion per week. These results confirm that a large increase in intake of plant-based products is needed. They show that rebalancing the intake of milk-based products in favor of the least energy-dense ones (ie, yogurts and milk) will help individuals in this population reach nutritional adequacy.

Influence of Information on Consumers' Evaluations Using Check‐All‐That‐Apply Questions and Sorting: A Case Study with Milk Desserts

AbstractConsumer perception of food products is a very complex phenomenon that is influenced by a wide range of characteristics. In particular, consumer perception of the sensory characteristics of food products can be strongly affected by information and expectations. Thus, the comparison of product characterizations from blind and informed conditions can provide a valuable insight about the impact of information on consumer perception of food products. In this context, the aim of the present work was to present a case study in which the influence of information on results of product characterizations of milk desserts from two methodologies, check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) questions and sorting, was studied. Six commercial vanilla milk desserts were evaluated under blind and informed conditions by two groups of 50 consumers using CATA questions and sorting. Results showed that information had a small impact on overall liking scores and product characterizations, suggesting that consumers' perception of the desserts was mainly determined by their sensory characteristics.Practical ApplicationsThe influence of information was larger for the sorting task than for check‐all‐that‐apply question, as expected, due to the fact that this last methodology was based exclusively on the perception of the sensory characteristics of the samples. Sorting tasks showed that consumers' categorizations under informed conditions were mainly related to the samples' sensory characteristics, and that information only had a limited influence. The comparison of blind and informed sorting tasks might enable one to determine the relative influence of package information on consumer perception of food products, which may be an interesting way of studying the impact of previous expectations and nonsensory variables on consumer perception.

Development and sensory evaluation of symbiotic potentially milk dessert

This paper aimed to develop a symbiotic potentially milk dessert containing the probiotic Lactobacillus acidophilus and yacon syrup as prebiotic food and assess its sensory acceptability. For the production of the brus initially prepared a yogurt with whole milk added to 10 % sugar, 3% of skimmed milk powder and 2% of the thermophilic culture. To achieve the titratable acidity of 0.75 %, the same was cooled to 10 oC until the time of the mixture. In parallel, it was prepared a paste of starch (1% w/v) and unflavored gelatin (0,6 %). For preparation of culture probiotica, Lactobacillus acidophilus were centrifuged and concentrated in 10 times. Finally, was prepared yacon syrup which was packaged in disposable cups, for later addition of the probiotic culture, yogurt and paste base previously homogenized. The sensorial acceptability was performed with 59 consumers with the use of hedonic scale of 9 points and intention to purchase. The Spearman correlation test verified the existence of the association between categorical variables and the variables of the acceptance test. The symbiotic Brus presented 10 8 CFU/g, quantity above the recommended and acceptability index more than 70 % for flavor, aroma, appearance and texture. The intent to purchase reported that 65% of consumers would buy this product if available on the market. The Spearman correlation was positive (p<0.05) between intention to purchase and the sensory attributes flavor, aroma and texture, suggesting that these characteristics act together during the sensory perception by consumers.

Development of functional milk desserts enriched with resistant starch based on consumers’ perception

Sensory characteristics play a key role in determining consumers' acceptance of functional foods. In this context, the aim of the present work was to apply a combination of sensory and consumer methodologies to the development of chocolate milk desserts enriched with resistant starch. Chocolate milk desserts containing modified waxy maize starch were formulated with six different concentrations of two types of resistant starch (which are part of insoluble dietary fiber). The desserts were evaluated by trained assessors using Quantitative Descriptive Analysis. Moreover, consumers scored their overall liking and willingness to purchase and answered an open-ended question. Resistant starch caused significant changes in the sensory characteristics of the desserts and a significant decrease in consumers' overall liking and willingness to purchase. Consumer data was analyzed applying survival analysis on overall liking scores, considering the risk on consumers liking and willing to purchase the functional products less than their regular counterparts. The proposed methodologies proved to be useful to develop functional foods taking into account consumers' perception, which could increase their success in the market.

Soy Milks as a Dairy Milk Substitute in Prepared Food Products: Effects on Quality and Acceptability

Two plain soy milks (full‐fat and light) replaced 100% of the whole dairy (cow) milk in control formulas for muffins, popovers, and frozen custard‐based ice milk dessert. Milks incorporated differed in total solids, pH, viscosity, particle size distribution, and color when assessed instrumentally. Quality of the prepared food products was evaluated with objective techniques, and consumer sensory panelists assessed appearance, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability. No effect of soy milk fat content on product quality or acceptability was found. Soy milk substitution impacted food product color (L*, a*, or b*). In custard‐based ice milk dessert, overrun % did not differ with milk source; however, sensory results revealed both soy milks were unacceptable substitutes. In popovers, neither volume nor acceptability differed with soy milk substitution. For muffins, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability did not differ, and appearance of the soy milk products was preferred; instrumental textural differences were not found. Either soy milk can successfully be substituted for dairy milk in muffins and popovers; nutritionally, use of light soy milk is recommended.

CONSUMERS' TEXTURE PERCEPTION OF MILK DESSERTS. I – RELATIONSHIP WITH RHEOLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS

ABSTRACTStudying and predicting consumers' texture perception of milk desserts are important for dairy companies during new product development and the design of positioning, advertising and communication strategies. In this context, the aim of the present work was to study the relationship between consumers' texture perception of milk desserts and rheological measurements.Six commercial milk desserts were evaluated by a panel of 50 consumers, who were asked to answer a check‐all‐that‐apply question. The rheological behavior of the desserts was evaluated using oscillatory tests, flow curves and the evaluation of structural breakdown by α‐amylase.Multiple factor analysis showed that data from rheological measurements and consumers' responses to the check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) question provided similar information and were able to identify differences in the texture of the evaluated milk desserts. Rheological measurements were able to predict consumers' perception of the characteristics responsible for the largest texture differences between the desserts.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSCheck‐all‐that‐apply question consisted on a useful and simple methodology to gather an insight on consumers' perception of the sensory characteristics of milk desserts, providing information that was in agreement with rheological measurements. The advantage of this methodology is that it only requires participants to select words from a list, being easier, less time consuming and more natural to use.

CONSUMERS' TEXTURE PERCEPTION OF MILK DESSERTS. II – COMPARISON WITH TRAINED ASSESSORS' DATA

ABSTRACTConsidering the importance of texture in consumers' acceptance of many dairy products, particularly milk desserts, it is important to rely on methodologies to understand consumers' texture perception. The aim of the present work was to study the relationship between consumers' texture perception of milk desserts and trained assessors' data.Six commercial milk desserts were evaluated by a panel of 100 consumers, divided into two groups of 50, which evaluated the texture of the desserts using intensity scales for five texture attributes or a check‐all‐that‐apply question. Concurrently, seven texture attributes of the desserts were evaluated by a trained panel.Results showed that both consumer profiling methodologies were able to identify differences in the texture characteristics of the desserts, providing very similar sensory maps. High correlation between textural attributes evaluated by consumers and trained assessors was found, indicating that consumers were able to evaluate the attributes in a similar way as trained assessors did.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSIntensity scales and check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) question seemed to be good alternatives to the use of trained assessors' panels when evaluating consumers' texture perception. Although both methodologies provided similar information, CATA questions would be preferred over intensity scales for being easier because consumers only have to check the terms from the question that are considered appropriate for each sample, getting rid of the need of asking consumers to score the intensity of sensory attributes using scales.The application of consumer profiling methodologies has the advantage of being based on consumers' perception of the products. However, it is important to highlight that these methodologies should be considered complementary to trained assessors data and that they might be particularly recommended for those food companies that do not enough time nor resources to train a panel for a specific application.

IS A CONSUMER PANEL ABLE TO RELIABLY EVALUATE THE TEXTURE OF DAIRY DESSERTS USING UNSTRUCTURED INTENSITY SCALES? EVALUATION OF GLOBAL AND INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE

ABSTRACTIn the last decade, consumer panels have been claimed capable of evaluating the intensity of sensory attributes of food products using intensity scales, providing similar results than trained assessors. In this context, the present study deals with the evaluation of the performance of a consumer panel for texture evaluation of milk desserts, based on global and individual performance, and the comparison with a panel of trained assessor panel. Four milk desserts with different texture characteristics were evaluated by 86 consumers and by a trained panel. Both panels evaluated five texture attributes using unstructured intensity scales. Consumers and trained assessors showed very similar discriminative capacity and reproducibility for all the evaluated texture characteristics. However, the consumer panel showed lack of consensus in its evaluations and individual scores for most consumers were not able to significantly discriminate between samples.PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSResults from the present work show that although average data for attribute intensity from a consumer panel might be valid and comparable with data from a quantitative descriptive analysis performed by a panel of trained assessors, high variability among consumers exists. Therefore, care must be taken when using intensity scales to study consumers' perception of the sensory characteristics of food products, which suggests that more appropriate methodologies should be developed.

Influence of fibre enrichment declaration on consumers’ perception of functional milk desserts

Influence of fibre enrichment declaration on consumers’ perception of functional milk desserts

Identifying consumers’ texture vocabulary of milk desserts

Identifying consumers’ texture vocabulary of milk desserts

Relationship between involvement and functional milk desserts intention to purchase. Influence on attitude towards packaging characteristics

Consumers perceive functional foods as member of the particular food category to which they belong. In this context, apart from health and sensory characteristics, non-sensory factors such as packaging might have a key role on determining consumers’ purchase decisions regarding functional foods. The aims of the present work were to study the influence of different package attributes on consumer willingness to purchase regular and functional chocolate milk desserts; and to assess if the influence of these attributes was affected by consumers’ level of involvement with the product. A conjoint analysis task was carried out with 107 regular milk desserts consumers, who were asked to score their willingness to purchase of 16 milk dessert package concepts varying in five features of the package, and to complete a personal involvement inventory questionnaire. Consumers’ level of involvement with the product affected their interest in the evaluated products and their reaction towards the considered conjoint variables, suggesting that it could be a useful segmentation tool during food development. Package colour and the presence of a picture on the label were the variables with the highest relative importance, regardless of consumers’ involvement with the product. The importance of these variables was higher than the type of dessert indicating that packaging may play an important role in consumers’ perception and purchase intention of functional foods.

CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS AND PERCEPTION OF CHOCOLATE MILK DESSERTS ENRICHED WITH ANTIOXIDANTS

ABSTRACT A study was carried out to identify consumers' previous expectations of chocolate milk desserts enriched with antioxidants and to determine if these expectations affected product perception. Seventy‐five consumers participated in the study and were asked to complete a word association task before the evaluation. Then, consumers tried six milk desserts with different polyphenolic concentration, scored their overall liking and willingness to purchase and provided up to four words to describe each of the samples. Cluster analysis performed on consumer‐elicited terms in the word association task allowed the identification of three consumer segments with different expectations and motivations toward chocolate milk desserts enriched with antioxidants. These groups also differed in their evaluation of the desserts when tasting them, showing different overall liking, willingness to purchase and sensory description of the samples. This suggests that consumers' prior expectations and motivations significantly affected their response when tasting the desserts. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSWord association was used to get an insight on consumer expectations of chocolate milk desserts enriched with antioxidants, proving to be a useful methodology. This approach could be a simple technique to understand consumer expectations before tasting a product, and to study how these expectations affect their response after tasting the product, particularly interesting when novel products are considered. Consumer segmentation based on their previous thoughts about a product could help to assure that a product meets consumer expectations appropriately, leading to a higher satisfaction.

APPLICATION OF A CHECK‐ALL‐THAT‐APPLY QUESTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHOCOLATE MILK DESSERTS

ABSTRACT Check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) questions could be a simple alternative to get an insight on consumer perception of a food product. In the present work, CATA questions were used in the development of chocolate milk desserts. Nine chocolate milk desserts were formulated with different sugar and cacao concentration. A consumer study was performed with 70 people, who were asked to score their overall liking and to answer a CATA question that included 18 sensory and hedonic terms. Besides, the samples were evaluated by a trained assessors' panel. Highly significant differences were found in the frequencies in which CATA terms were used for describing the nine desserts, suggesting that this methodology was able to detect differences in consumer perception of the desserts. Sample configuration from consumers' CATA counts and trained assessors data were similar, suggesting a good agreement between both evaluations. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONSThe use of a CATA question resulted in a simple and valid approach to gather information about consumers' perception of the product, including both their sensory and hedonic impression. This methodology enabled the direct identification of drivers of liking for groups of consumers with different preference patterns. Considering results from the present study, the use of CATA questions could be an interesting methodology to obtain a sensory map based only on consumer perception of the products and to perform external preference mapping when a sensory trained panel is not available.