Direct measurement of powder flavour adhesion on to a food surface using a novel adhesion tester

The firm adhesion of flavouring particles onto crisp surfaces during coating processes is a major concern in the snack production industry. Detachment of flavouring powders from products during handling and production stages can lead to substantial financial losses for the industry, in terms of variable flavour performance and extended cleaning down time of fugitive particle build-up on process equipment. Understanding the adhesion strength of applied bulk particulates used for flavouring formulations will help analysts to evaluate the efficiency of coating processes and potentially enable them to assess the adhesion strength of newly formulated flavouring powder prior to commitment to full scale plant trials. A rapid prototype of a novel adhesion tester has been designed and constructed. The apparatus operates according to the principle of impact force acting on particles attached to the surface of the food substrate. The main component is a circular plate to which four sample holders are attached and which is subjected to vertical travel down a guide shaft. Several flavouring powders have been tested extensively. By plotting the detachment versus impact force, the difference obtained between adhesion strength of different flavouring powders (which is a strong function of particle size) has been discussed.

How can packaging change children's eating habits from un-healthy food towards healthier options?

Field Lab: Children consumer behaviour

Culture and food: a model of yoghurt consumption in the EU

The completion of the Single European Market was expected to create a large market that would enable firms to capture economies of scale that would in turn result in lower prices to European consumers. These benefits are only likely to be realised if consumers in the various countries of the EU wish to consume the same products and respond to similar marketing strategies (with respect to promotion, distribution etc). This study examines, through a model of yoghurt consumption, whether cultural differences continue to determine food-related behaviour in the EU. The model is derived from the marketing literature and views the consumption decision as the outcome of a multi-stage process in which yoghurt knowledge, attitudes to different yoghurt attributes (such as bio-bifidus, low-fat, organic) and overall attitude towards yoghurt as a product all feed into the frequency with which yoghurt is consumed at breakfast, as a snack and as a dessert. The model uses data collected from a consumer survey in I I European countries and is estimated using probit and ordinal probit methods. The results suggest that important cultural differences continue to determine food-related behaviour in the I I countries of the study. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fortified food made by the extrusion of a mixture of chickpea, corn and bovine lung controls iron-deficiency anaemia in preschool children

A fortified food that was rich in protein, vitamins and iron made of chickpea, bovine lung and corn was developed with the aim of controlling iron-deficiency anaemia in children from poorer areas. It was tested in Teresina, State of Piaui, Northeastern Brazil, on a population with high anaemia prevalence. Two local daycare units with similar characteristics were selected and the children at one of them received a 30 g pack three times a week, representing a total iron daily intake of 6.96 mg. The other daycare unit was followed as a control. The capillary haemoglobin concentration was determined for the children at both daycare units, at the beginning of the study and after a two-month intervention period. The mean haemoglobin concentration in the test group at the beginning of the intervention was 11.8 g/dL, which increased to 13.1 g/dL at the end of the intervention. In the control group these figures remained practically constant (11.6-11.8 g/dL). These represented a dramatic and significant drop in anaemia prevalence, from 61.5% to 11.5% in the test group, and an insignificant reduction (63.1-57.7%) in the control group. The acceptance of the fortified snack was excellent and no undesirable effects were observed. (C) 2007 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Processamento e caracterização de snack extrudado a partir de farinhas de quirera de arroz e de bandinha de feijão

Este trabalho teve por objetivo desenvolver nova formulação de snack por extrusão termoplástica a partir de mistura de farinhas de quirera de arroz e de bandinha de feijão, bem como avaliar o potencial nutricional, tecnológico e sensorial do novo produto. A farinha de bandinha de feijão carioca foi incorporada à farinha de quirera de arroz na proporção de 30%. O snack foi produzido em extrusora monorrosca, escala piloto. Os parâmetros de extrusão foram fixos, utilizando-se três zonas de extrusão com temperaturas de 40, 60 e 85 °C; velocidade do parafuso de 177 rpm; taxa de alimentação de 292 g.min-1, e matriz circular de 3,85 mm de diâmetro. A amostra de snack foi submetida a caracterizações fisicoquímica, tecnológica e sensorial. Observou-se efeito significativo da farinha de bandinha de feijão no aumento dos teores proteico e de fibras no snack obtido, quando comparada à farinha de quirera de arroz. Em relação às características tecnológicas do produto, obteve-se 0,17 g.cm-3 para densidade aparente, 7,75 para o índice de expansão e 435, g.f para a dureza instrumental. A formulação estudada foi aceita sensorialmente, com índice de aceitação para impressão global de 76%. Conclui-se que é possível produzir snacks por extrusão a partir da incorporação de 30% de farinha de bandinha de feijão à farinha de quirera de arroz, resultando em produto aceito sensorialmente e com adequado valor nutricional.

Dietary Intakes of Children From Food Insecure Households

The objective of this cross-sectional study is to compare the dietary behaviors of children from low food secure (LFS) households with children from very low food secure (VLFS) households over an entire day, and during meals specifically consumed at home —breakfast, snack, and dinner. Parents of the recruited children completed a demographic questionnaire, along with USDA's 6-item short form food security questionnaire. Children completed 24-hour dietary recalls in person. Complete data from 102 children 9 to 12 years old were used. Using ANOVA to assess the differences among groups in intakes over an entire day and during meals consumed at home, no significant differences were found, except for vitamin C intake during breakfast. Based on the definitions of LFS and VLFS, it was hypothesized that children from VLFS group would have lower dietary intakes compared to children from the LFS group. However, this study found little difference. Speculations have been made for these findings and implications for research have been presented.

The art of dieting: Exposure to thin sculptures effortlessly reduces the intake of unhealthy food in motivated eaters

Thin, human-like sculptures by the artist Alberto Giacometti, applied as environmental cues, have been found to facilitate dieting by reducing chocolate intake and promoting healthy snack choices. However, the processes underlying this “Giacometti effect” have been left unexplored so far. The present study therefore first examines the effortlessness of the effect. More specifically, it aims to determine whether the sculptures reduce unhealthy food intake when only few cognitive resources for their influence are available. For this purpose, the participants in a chip tasting were given the cognitive load task of memorizing either 10 or two digits during the tasting. The results indicate that the sculptures reduced participants’ chip intake independent of the cognitive load. Thus, they influenced participants’ eating behavior even when only few cognitive resources were available. The results also indicate that the sculptures reduced chip intake only when the participants liked the chips. The sculptures could thus exert their influence when individuals were motivated to eat and the dieting cues were useful. The finding that the Giacometti sculptures, applied as environmental dieting or health cues, influenced individuals when only few cognitive resources were available, could indicate a crucial advantage for the application of these cues in complex, real-world settings.

Point-of-sale machines in school cafeterias and parental influence on child food choices

The prevalence of obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Twenty-five percent of school aged students are overweight. Schools have the opportunity to help slow this epidemic. School cafeterias in the United States feed millions of students every day through the National School Lunch Program.^ Point-of-sale machines are used in most school cafeterias to help streamline the process of purchasing school lunches. The point-of-sale software allows school personnel to place special notes on student's accounts to provide alerts about parental requests. This study investigated what the alerts are used for, who uses the alerts, and if there are any patterns by demographic characteristics. ^ Counts and percentages were used to determine what the alerts were used for and who used them. This study found that students who were white non-Hispanic, paid status, or in elementary school were most likely to have alerts placed on their accounts. Also, the majority of point-of-sale alerts were used as allowances (i.e., allowed to purchase snacks from the balance on the school lunch account), rather than restrictions (i.e., restricted from purchasing high calorie foods or specific food items). Using chi-square analysis, a total of 688 alerts were analyzed. There were significant differences in alert frequencies for intent category by grade level (p=0.000), snack access (p=0.000), and gender (p=0.002). Therefore, the results are significant, and one can conclude there is a significant relationship between gender, grade level, and snack access, and the presence of an alert on the school lunch account.^ Also, school administrators may want to take into consideration possible changes to their program, such as requiring more time to run the software. The results of this study can assist school administrators to better understand that a point-of-sale alert program may help their school lunch programs run more efficiently, while also providing parental influence on students’ food choices at the point-of-sale.^ School food service authorities should consider implementing a structured point-of-sale alert policy to encourage parental input on their children's food choices. When implementing the point-of-sale policy, schools should publicize this policy online, through school lunch menus, and parent communications increase participation throughout the school district.^

A content analysis of food and nutrition television advertisements

Television (TV) reaches more people than any other medium which makes it an important source of health information. Since TV ads often offer information obliquely, this study investigated implied health messages found in food and nutrition TV ads. The goals were to determine the proportion of food and nutrition ads among all TV advertising and to use content analysis to identify their implied messages and health claims. A randomly selected sample of TV ads were collected over a 28-day period beginning May 8, 1987. The sample contained 3547 ads; 725 (20%) were food-related. All were analyzed. About 10% of food-related TV ads contained a health claim. Twenty-five representative ads of the 725 food ads were also reviewed by 10 dietitians to test the reliability of the instrument. Although the dietitians agreed upon whether a health claim existed in a televised food ad, their agreement was poor when evaluating the accuracy of the claim. The number of food-related ads dropped significantly on Saturday, but the number of alcohol ads rose sharply on Saturday and Sunday. Snack ads were shown more often on Thursday, but snack commercials were also numerous on Saturday morning and afternoon, as were cereal ads. Ads for snack foods accounted for the greatest proportion of ads (20%) while fast food accounted for only 7%. Alcohol constituted about 9% of all food and nutrition ads.

The effect of consumer risk perceptions and information search on willingness to buy GM food products: A cross cultural analysis

This paper seeks to address the widespread call in the literature for the cross-cultural examination ( and validation) of accepted concepts within consumer behaviour, such as consumer risk perceptions and information search. The findings of the study provide support for a number of accepted relationships, whilst identifying distinct cross cultural differences in external information search and willingness to buy genetically modified (GM) food products by consumers.

A systematic review of environmental correlates of obesity-related dietary behaviors in youth

There is increasing interest in the role the environment plays in shaping the dietary behavior of youth, particularly in the context of obesity prevention. An overview of environmental factors associated with obesity-related dietary behaviors among youth is needed to inform the development of interventions. A systematic review of observational studies on environmental correlates of energy, fat, fruit/ vegetable, snack/fast food and soft drink intakes in children (4–12 years) and adolescents (13–18 years) was conducted. The results were summarized using the analysis grid for environments linked to obesity. The 58 papers reviewed mostly focused on sociocultural and economical–environmental factors at the household level. The most consistent associations were found between parental intake and children’s fat, fruit/vegetable intakes, parent and sibling intake with adolescent’s energy and fat intakes and parental education with adolescent’s fruit/ vegetable intake. A less consistent but positive association was found for availability and accessibility on children’s fruit/vegetable intake. Environmental factors are predominantly studied at the household level and focus on sociocultural and economic aspects. Most consistent associations were found for parental influences (parental intake and education).More studies examining environmental factors using longitudinal study designs and validated measures are needed for solid evidence to inform interventions.

A quasi stationary approach to drying kinetics of cylindrical food particulates in a heat pump asisted fluid bed dryer

Experiments were undertaken to study drying kinetics of moist cylindrical shaped food particulates during fluidised bed drying. Cylindrical particles were prepared from Green beans with three different length:diameter ratios, 3:1, 2:1 and 1:1. A batch fluidised bed dryer connected to a heat pump system was used for the experimentation. A Heat pump and fluid bed combination was used to increase overall energy efficiency and achieve higher drying rates. Drying kinetics, were evaluated with non-dimensional moisture at three different drying temperatures of 30, 40 and 50o C. Numerous mathematical models can be used to calculate drying kinetics ranging from analytical models with simplified assumptions to empirical models built by regression using experimental data. Empirical models are commonly used for various food materials due to their simpler approach. However problems in accuracy, limits the applications of empirical models. Some limitations of empirical models could be reduced by using semi-empirical models based on heat and mass transfer of the drying operation. One such method is the quasi-stationary approach. In this study, a modified quasi-stationary approach was used to model drying kinetics of the cylindrical food particles at three drying temperatures.