Abstract This study evaluated the sensory attributes and lipid peroxidation of smoked lamb sausage prepared with passion fruit meal, potassium chloride and calcium chloride. The samples were produced and smoked at Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo, where they were kept vacuum packed and frozen until laboratory analysis. The formulations with passion fruit meal presented lower weight loss by smoking. No microbiological growth was detected in the 90-day study period. Formulation 1 was the best in the attributes color, aroma, flavor, texture, overall impression and purchase intention. The use of passion fruit meal to replace fat, potassium chloride and calcium chloride did not affect oxidation of the product during the study period. The addition of passion fruit meal, potassium chloride and calcium chloride to smoked lamb sausage, especially in Formulation 1, produced the best results and the levels of these ingredients did not interfere in oxidation.

Abstract Six Brazilian commercial brands of snack bars were chosen to evaluate the importance of packaging, highlighting the potential of health claims on the acceptability of them. One hundred and two consumers evaluated bars in three sessions of acceptance test, using a nine-point hedonic scale: the first with no information about the product, the second containing the packaging of the product and the last with information on health-related claims associated with the consumption of the bar. A Randomized Complete Block Design structured the experiment. The results were analyzed using frequency distribution, internal preference mapping, ANOVA and Tukey test (p ≤ 0.05). In the blind test, the lower mean acceptance of the seed and protein bars showed the need for sensorial improvement. In the packaging test, the difference between the means show that the packaging of the bars evaluated did not differ on acceptance, differing only from the protein bar. Test with the information showed that information of health claims, for the most part, can positively influence sensory acceptance, even if in some cases there is no sensory pleasure.

RESUMO: Este estudo avaliou o efeito de diferentes concentrações de farinha de yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolia) sobre as características físico-químicas, microbiológicas e sensoriais de quatro formulações de mortadelas (F1, F2, F3 e controle) preparadas com carne de ovinos, gordura suína e aditivos. Todas as formulações atenderam aos padrões físico-químicos e microbiológicos definidos nas regulamentações para produção de mortadela no Brasil. As formulações controle e F1 obtiveram as melhores pontuações de aceitação, em comparação com F2 e F3. Os julgadores declararam intenção de compra favorável para as formulações controle, F1 e F2. Os resultados mostram que a mortadela de carne ovina suplementada com farinha de yacon é uma alternativa promissora na fabricação de produtos cárneos mais saudáveis.

ABSTRACT: This study evaluated the effect of different yacón meal concentrations (Smallanthus sonchifolia) on the physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of four mortadella formulations (F1, F2, F3, and control) prepared with mutton, pork fat, and additives. All formulations met the physicochemical and microbiological standards defined in regulations for mortadella production in Brazil. Control and F1 were the formulations with better acceptance scores, compared with F2 and F3. The judges stated favorable purchase intention for the control, F1 and F2 formulations. Results showed that mutton mortadella supplemented with yacón meal is a promising alternative in the manufacture of healthier meat products.

Nos últimos anos tem sido crescente a procura por bebidas de café diferenciadas, como o tipo expresso. Nessa bebida, é essencial um alto teor de extrato aquoso para garantir um bom corpo, o que pode ser obtido utilizando-se o café conilon. O Estado do Espírito Santo é o maior produtor nacional de café conilon. Ainda que existam vários estudos sobre a composição físico-química do café brasileiro, pouco se sabe sobre características físico-químicas das bebidas de café expresso obtidas com blends entre o café arábica e o conilon capixaba. Neste trabalho teve-se como objetivo realizar a caracterização físico-química da bebida de café expresso formulada a partir de blends de café arábica e conilon produzido no Espírito Santo (nas proporções de arábica e conilon de 100:0; 80:20; 60:40; 40:20; e 0:100, respectivamente), com diferentes tipos de processamento (natural e descascado). Foram realizadas análises de umidade, pH, acidez titulável total e extrato aquoso. Constatou-se que a utilização de conilon no blend com arábica, nas duas formas de processamento, acarreta em bebidas com maior valor de pH, menor acidez e maior teor de extrato aquoso. Um maior teor de extrato aquoso é interessante para o preparo de café tipo expresso. Sendo assim, os resultados demonstram a viabilidade da utilização do café conilon em blends com arábica no preparo do café tipo expresso, quando se desejam bebidas com maior teor de extrato aquoso.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest for exquisite beverages such as espresso coffee. Espresso coffee requires a high content of the aqueous extract to ensure a good body of the beverage, which can be obtained using coffee conilon. Espírito Santo State is the largest producer of conilon coffee in Brazil. Although there are several studies on the physico-chemical composition of Brazilian coffee, there is a lack of information about the use of conilon from Espírito Santo in the formulation of blends with Arabica coffee, as well as the physico-chemical characteristics of espresso coffee beverage obtained with these blends. The objective of this study was to carry out the physico-chemical characterization of espresso coffee beverage made from blends of arabica and conilon coffees (in arabica and conilon proportions of 100:0; 80:20; 60:40; 40:20 and 0:100, respectively) with different types of processing (dry process and semi dry process) produced in Espírito Santo. The variables moisture, pH, titratable acidity and aqueous extract of the samples were analyzed. It was found that the use of conilon in blends with Arabica, in the two forms of processing, results in beverages with higher levels of pH, lower acidity and higher percentage of aqueous extract. A higher percentage of aqueous extract is interesting for the preparation of espresso coffee. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using conilon coffee in blends with Arabica coffee in brewing espresso coffee, when a higher aqueous extract beverage is desired.

The objective of this study was to predict by means of Artificial Neural Network (ANN), multilayer perceptrons, the texture attributes of light cheesecurds perceived by trained judges based on instrumental texture measurements. Inputs to the network were the instrumental texture measurements of light cheesecurd (imitative and fundamental parameters). Output variables were the sensory attributes consistency and spreadability. Nine light cheesecurd formulations composed of different combinations of fat and water were evaluated. The measurements obtained by the instrumental and sensory analyses of these formulations constituted the data set used for training and validation of the network. Network training was performed using a back-propagation algorithm. The network architecture selected was composed of 8-3-9-2 neurons in its layers, which quickly and accurately predicted the sensory texture attributes studied, showing a high correlation between the predicted and experimental values for the validation data set and excellent generalization ability, with a validation RMSE of 0.0506.

Ordered probit regression was used to analyze data of sensory acceptance tests designed to study the effect of brand name on the acceptability of beer samples. Eight different brands of Pilsen beer were evaluated by 101 consumers in two sessions of acceptance tests: blind evaluation and brand information test. Ordered probit regression, although a relatively sophisticated technique compared to others used to analyze sensory data, was chosen to enable the observation of consumers' behavior using graphical interpretations of estimated probabilities plotted against hedonic scales. It can be concluded that brands B, C, and D had a positive effect on the sensory acceptance of the product, whereas brands A, F, G, and H had a negative influence on consumers' evaluation of the samples. On the other hand, brand E had little influence on consumers' assessment.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a aceitação sensorial de bebida não fermentada, com adição de inulina e polpa de acerola. Seis formulações foram desenvolvidas, com adição de 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 e 100% de soro. O pH do soro foi 6,59, e a acidez de 0,103% de ácido lático. Utilizou-se a escala hedônica de nove pontos no teste de aceitação. As médias hedônicas das amostras com 0, 20 e 40% de soro não diferiram significativamente e variaram entre 6 e 8 pontos. As bebidas desenvolvidas com até 60% de soro são alternativas interessantes para o aproveitamento desse subproduto em laticínios.

The objective of this work was to evaluate the sensorial acceptance of non‑fermented drink with addition of inulin and acerola pulp. Six beverage formulations were developed with addition of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, and 100% whey. Whey pH was 6.59, and its acidity was 0.103% lactic acid. A nine‑point hedonic scale was used for the acceptance test. Hedonic means of samples with 0, 20, and 40% whey did not differ significantly and varied between 6 and 8. Developed beverages with up to 60% whey are good alternatives for harnessing this byproduct in milk companies.

Conduziu-se este trabalho, com o objetivo de investigar, usando grupos de foco, atitudes, opiniões, conceitos e pensamentos de consumidores sobre embalagens de café torrado e moído que refletem na sua decisão de compra. Três sessões de grupo de foco de 90 minutos foram realizadas (duas em Viçosa/MG e uma em Londrina/PR), num total de 24 participantes. Foram apresentadas cinco embalagens de café (sendo quatro orgânicas, em razão da maior preocupação em obter dados sobre café orgânico) para estimular a conversação, sendo seguido um roteiro de perguntas. Os dados obtidos foram estudados, considerando palavras utilizadas pelos consumidores, sem análise estatística, em razão da característica qualitativa de grupos de foco. Foi observado que os principais fatores considerados no processo de decisão de compra são: preço, cor da embalagem e marca. Muitos participantes mostraram-se fiéis a marcas e outros admitiram pagar mais por um produto orgânico, dependendo do preço do mesmo. Foi sugerido que na embalagem de café orgânico deveria ser salientada a definição do produto para aqueles que não conhecem tal técnica de produção.

Focused group technique was used in this work with the aim of investigating consumers' attitudes, opinions, concepts and thoughts related to coffee package, which may affect their purchase decision. Three focus group sessions of ninety minutes were carried out (two sessions in Viçosa/MG and one session in Londrina/PR), totaling 24 participants. Five coffee packages were presented (four being organic coffee packages due to the necessity of obtaining more information about organic coffee). In order to stimulate discussion all consumers (participants?) were asked to fill in a questionnaire after each session. The obtained data were studied taking into account statements made by consumers without performing any data statistical analysis due to the focused group's qualitative nature. The main observed factors presented on coffee package during the purchase process were price, package color and brand. Many consumers were loyal to brand and others admitted to pay more for an organic product, depending on its price. It is suggested that on the organic coffee package labeling should be emphasized the product identification for those who don't know anything about organic production technique.

Foram estudadas nove marcas de cervejas comerciais brasileiras tipo Pilsen, com o objetivo de avaliar a influência da embalagem na aceitação das mesmas. As amostras foram separadas em três grupos e baseadas na pesquisa Top of Mind/2005. As marcas 1, 2, 3 e 4 (grupo a) foram as mais citadas pelos consumidores nacionais; as 5 e 6 (grupo b) tiveram citação intermediária; e as 7, 8 e 9 (grupo c) são consideradas regionais. O trabalho foi dividido em 3 etapas: teste cego, teste com embalagem e teste com informação. Os testes foram aplicados a 54 julgadores, em condições laboratoriais, usando escala hedônica de 9 categorias. Os resultados foram analisados por ANOVA e teste de Tukey (p < 0,05). No teste cego, a marca 1 diferiu significativamente das marcas 4, 7 e 8, sendo a menos aceita. No teste com embalagem, a situação se inverteu, sendo a marca 1 a mais aceita, juntamente com as marcas 3, 4 e 9, e a marca 7 foi a menos aceita. Já no teste com informação, as cervejas do grupo a e a marca 8 (regional) foram as mais aceitas. Os resultados indicam que muitas vezes a embalagem influencia e pode modificar a aceitação de algumas cervejas.

Nine Brazilian commercial brands of Pilsen beer were studied to evaluate the influence of packaging on their acceptability. The brands were separated into three groups, based on the Top of Mind/2005 research. Brands number 1, 2, 3 and 4 (group a) are the most recognized by national consumers; brands number 5 and 6 (group b) have intermediate recognition and brands number 7, 8 and 9 (group c) are considered regional. This study was separated in 3 stages: blind test, test with labels and test with information. The tests were applied to 54 consumers under laboratory conditions, using a nine-point hedonic scale. The results were analyzed using ANOVA and the Tukey test (p < 0,05). In the blind test, brand 1 was significantly different from brands 4, 7 and 8, being the less accepted. In the test with labels, the situation was inverted, since brand 1 was the most accepted, along with brands 3, 4 and 9; and brand 7 was the less accepted. On the other hand, in the test with information, Group A beers and brand 8, which is regional, were the most accepted. The results indicate that the labels can often influence and modify the acceptability of some beers.

O efeito de algumas características da embalagem de café orgânico sobre a intenção de compra do consumidor foi avaliado, utilizando-se a conjoint analysis. Quatro características, cada uma com dois níveis, foram manipuladas: preço do produto (alto e baixo), cor da embalagem (vermelha e verde), marca (conhecida e desconhecida) e informação sobre orgânicos (com e sem os dizeres "produto isento de agrotóxicos" e "não agride o meio ambiente"). Dezesseis embalagens hipotéticas foram criadas seguindo o delineamento fatorial completo e avaliadas por 144 consumidores, de acordo com a intenção de compra. O modelo clustering segmentation foi utilizado para a análise dos dados. A marca conhecida afetou positivamente a intenção de compra de 93% dos consumidores. Embalagens possuindo preço alto conferiram impacto negativo na intenção de compra de todos os participantes. A cor da embalagem teve pouco impacto na avaliação. As informações adicionais sobre orgânicos afetaram positivamente a intenção de compra de 79% dos participantes, demonstrando que consumidores gostam de encontrar informações sobre o produto descritas na embalagem.

The effect of some of the characteristics of organic coffee packaging on the consumer’s intention to purchase was studied using conjoint analysis. Four factors, each having two levels, were chosen and considered, namely: price (high and low), color of the packaging (red and green), brand name (familiar and unfamiliar), and information about organic foods (with and without the terms "environmental-friendly product" and "free of agrotoxic chemicals"). Sixteen hypothetical organic coffee bags were created following a complete factorial design, which were then evaluated by 144 consumers based on their intention to purchase. The data were analyzed using the clustering segmentation model. The familiar brand name positively affected the intention to purchase of 93% of the consumers. High-priced organic coffee packaging had a negative impact on all the participants’ intention to purchase. The color of the packaging had little impact on the consumers’ evaluation. Printed information about organic foods positively affected the intention to purchase of 79% of the participants, demonstrating that consumers want to find information about the product printed on its packaging.