Evaluation of new red winemaking technologies through consumer liking

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Optimization of neutral hydrolysis reaction of post-consumer PET for chemical recycling

The neutral hydrolysis reaction of post-consumer poly(ethylene terephthalate) in solid state was studied through the reaction of the polymer with water at the molar ratio 1:91 with autogenous pressure. Two sizes of post-consumer PET flakes and temperatures of 135 °C, 170°C and 205°C with pressures of 4.0 atm, 7.5 atm and 13.5 atm, respectively, were considered. With reaction time equal to 6h, the method reached 99% depolymerization at 205°C, 8.2% at 170 °C and 1.7% at 135°C. The reaction extension was measured by separating the terephthalic acid formed in the process and calculating by gravimetry how much material could still be reacted. Through the viscosimetry of diluted, solutions and the counting of carboxylic end groups in the remaining material from the gravimetric assay, it was possible to suggest that the reaction occurs randomly and in the whole volume of the polymeric particle and not solely on the surface. The terephthalic acid obtained and then purified was characterized by elemental analysis, magnetic nuclear resonance, size and panicle size distribution and spectrophotometry in the visible spectrum, and it was similar to the petrochemical equivalent, with purity recorded in carbon base equal to 99.9%.

Consumer behavior after the Brazilian power rationing in 2001

In June 2001, after a dry period, the level of the water reservoirs in Brazil was below their operational levels. This situation, combined with other historical factors, led the country into a period of power rationing. As expected, power consumption lowered during this period. After December 2001, when the power rationing ended, electrical utilities expected to return to their normal power consumption in a matter of months, but the level of power consumption only returned to its level around years 2004 2005. Consumer behavior went through a change during this period, and the consumers kept this behavior after, leading to electrical and economical consequences until today. This paper presents an analysis of several factors that led to these events, including historical consumption data and comparisons with similar situations. The objective of this analysis is to give helpful information to electrical utilities, that could deal with similar situations, in their load forecasting studies. © 2006 IEEE.

Consumer confidence and economic growth: case studies of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago

Includes bibliography

Brazil: how macroeconomic variables affect consumer confidence

Includes bibliography

Consumer interpretation of ready to drink orange juice and nectar labelling

The aim of this study was to evaluate consumers' use and interpretation of ready to drink orange juice and nectar label information and its influence on the purchase decision. One hundred and sixty-seven consumers of ready to drink orange juice and nectar were interviewed. The labels were analysed to evaluate their conformance to Brazilian legislation. The manufacturing and shelf life date were the information most often checked, followed by health related issues. Brand, price and flavour were the most important factors for purchase decision. Brand and flavour showed significant association with consumer age. For most interviewed, 'nectar', 'whole' and 'natural' or '100% natural' were not well understood; they were not in accordance with the Brazilian legislation. 'Nectar', 'whole' and 'natural' or '100% natural' received a positive interpretation, whereas 'reconstituted juice' was considered a negative expression. Nevertheless, none of the labels completely conformed to the specific nutritional labelling legislation. © 2013 Institute of Food Science and Technology.

Innovative winemaking: Consumer acceptance of red table wines

Purpose: This paper aims to evaluate the consumer acceptance of Bordô and Isabel wines from innovative winemaking in order to increase red wine consumption by consumers to obtain nutritional benefits. Design/methodology/approach: All wines were produced by a standard procedure of vinification. Pre-drying treatment aimed at drying the grapes up to 22°Brix and static pomace wines presented the constant contact between the must and pomace. Sensory acceptance was carried out by 80 consumers who evaluated eight samples (six experimental wines and two commercial wines) concerning the attributes: appearance, aroma, body, flavor and overall acceptance. Findings: Experimental wines presented higher acceptance when compared to commercial wines and cluster analysis shows the splitting of consumer preferences, highlighting the higher acceptance of traditional Bordô wine and static pomace samples in all sensory attributes. Pre-drying process enhances the concentration of coloured compounds, to highlight the appearance acceptance of these samples. Research limitations/implications: Although this paper has limited the consumer acceptance of red table wines, the innovative treatments will be applied in Vitis vinifera red wines. Practical implications: The wide acceptance of static pomace and pre-drying wines has promoted further information about innovative winemaking that can be applied in Brazilian and worldwide wineries. Social implications: The innovative treatments can change sensorial features of wines and therefore influence the choice of consumers as well as enhancing the nutritional benefits of red wines. Originality/value: The pre-drying and static pomace winemaking are the novelty of this study and the wide acceptance of the sensory attributes concerning these treatments indicates the potential for application in wineries. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Consumer attitude towards purchasing intent for ready to drink orange juice and nectar

Purpose: The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the impact of some labeling aspects on the consumer intent to purchase ready to drink orange juice and nectar. Design/methodology/approach: The influence of label information on the consumer intent to purchase was evaluated by conjoint analysis using a convenience sample (n=149). A factorial design with four characteristics, price, brand, information about the product and kind of beverage, was used. Three levels were established for brand and product information, and two for price and kind of beverage. Findings: Low price, product information and market leading brand had positive impact. No preservatives/natural was the information that most influenced consumer's purchase intent. The ideal label showed the leading brand, low price and information no preservatives/natural. These results could be useful for strategic planning of consumer instruction and have important implications for Brazilian orange juice manufactures. Originality/value: Although the most widely consumed beverages in Brazil are ready to drink orange juice and nectar, it was unexpected that consumers did not know the differences between them and that kind of beverage was not an important factor for the purchase decision. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The new digital revolution: From the consumer Internet to the industrial Internet

The new digital technologies have led to widespread use of cloud computing, recognition of the potential of big data analytics, and significant progress in aspects of the Internet of Things, such as home automation, smart cities and grids and digital manufacturing. In addition to closing gaps in respect of the basic necessities of access and usage, now the conditions must be established for using the new platforms and finding ways to participate actively in the creation of content and even new applications and platforms. This message runs through the three chapters of this book. Chapter I presents the main features of the digital revolution, emphasizing that today’s world economy is a digital economy. Chapter II examines the region’s strengths and weaknesses with respect to digital access and consumption. Chapter III reviews the main policy debates and urges countries to take a more proactive approach towards, for example, regulation, network neutrality and combating cybercrime. The conclusion highlights two crucial elements: first, the need to take steps towards a single regional digital market that can compete in a world of global platforms by tapping the benefits of economies of scale and developing network economies; and second, the significance of the next stage of the digital agenda for Latin America and the Caribbean (eLAC2018), which will embody the latest updates to a cooperation strategy that has been in place for over a decade.

Plasma Treatment to Improve the Surface Properties of Recycled Post-Consumer PVC

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Chicken meat consumer profile in northwestern São Paulo State, Brazil

Brazil is the world’s first chicken meat exporter nowadays. The maintenance of this position requires a constant quality attributes evolution. This work evaluated the chicken meat consumer profile in the northwest region of São Paulo state, the most important Brazilian poultry meat consumer market, in order to provide information to the productive sector. The data were collected using 482 interviews and questionnaires that were answered by e-mail. The questionnaires involved questions related to the consumer identification, habits and preferences and their knowledge about food safety, production system, sustainability and animal welfare. Most of the consumers, 62%, were female, with ages ranging from 20 to 50 years. Beef was preferred by the majority of the answerers and chicken and pork meat were together the second choice. Only 2% of the interviewed consumers mentioned not enjoying poultry meat. The main part of consumers, 67%, prefer to buy breast and leg cuts and only 11% are used to buy the whole poultry carcass. More than 60% of the interviewed have already eaten free range chicken meat, but the majority of them, 89%, are used to consume regular industrialized poultry. About 75% of the consumers believe hormones are used to grow the birds. Over 80% of people observe the expiration date before buying the product, but only 55% check if it has the stamp of the official inspection service. Color and appearance of meat are the most important factors that influence the consumer’s choice. The amount of water that drips on the tray is a rejection factor to 88% of answerers. Most of them, 66%, prefer lighter colored meat. Only 27% of them believe that chicken meat causes an environmental impact and 48% do not know the meaning of animal welfare. More than half of the interviewed do not consider animal welfare aspects before consuming any kind of meat. From these results obtained, it is possible to conclude that any effort to improve the product quality, mainly concerned to animal welfare and sustainability aspects, requires prior educational initiatives.

Consumer attitudes, knowledge, and behavior related to salt consumption in sentinel countries of the Americas

Objective. To describe individual attitudes, knowledge, and behavior regarding salt intake, its dietary sources, and current food-labeling practices related to salt and sodium in five sentinel countries of the Americas. Methods. A convenience sample of 1 992 adults (>= 18 years old) from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, and Ecuador (approximately 400 from each country) was obtained between September 2010 and February 2011. Data collection was conducted in shopping malls or major commercial areas using a questionnaire containing 33 questions. Descriptive estimates are presented for the total sample and stratified by country and sociodemographic characteristics of the studied population. Results. Almost 90% of participants associated excess intake of salt with the occurrence of adverse health conditions, more than 60% indicated they were trying to reduce their current intake of salt, and more than 30% believed reducing dietary salt to be of high importance. Only 26% of participants claimed to know the existence of a recommended maximum value of salt or sodium intake and 47% of them stated they knew the content of salt in food items. More than 80% of participants said that they would like food labeling to indicate high, medium, and low levels of salt or sodium and would like to see a clear warning label on packages of foods high in salt. Conclusions. Additional effort is required to increase consumers' knowledge about the existence of a maximum limit for intake and to improve their capacity to accurately monitor and reduce their personal salt consumption.

INFLUENCE OF DISCOUNT PRICE ANNOUNCEMENTS ON CONSUMER'S BEHAVIOR

The theoretical framework that underpins this research study is based on the Prospect Theory formulated by Kahneman and Tversky, and Thaler's Mental Accounting Theory. The research aims to evaluate the consumers' behavior when different patterns of discount are offered (in percentage and absolute value and for larger and smaller discounts). Two experiments were conducted to explore these patterns of behavior and the results that were obtained supported the view that the framing effect was a common occurrence. The patterns of choice of individuals in a sample were found to be different due to changes in the ways discounts were offered. This can be explained by the various ways of presenting discount rates that had an impact on the influence of purchase intentions, recommendations and quality perception.