Browsing by Author "Ribeiro, J. C."
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- Evaluation of innovative insect-based products by Portuguese consumers using a repeated exposure approach under a controlled settingPublication . Barbosa, B.; Rocha, C.; Ribeiro, J. C.; Lima, R. C.; Costa, A. I. A.; Monteiro, M. J. P.; Maya, C.; Roos, N.; Cunha, L. M.In an era of considerable environmental pressures, edible insects have demonstrated their ability to integrate innovative and sustainable food production methods. Nonetheless, there are clear obstacles to their acceptance, particularly in Western countries. With a view to a longitudinal analysis of the consumption moment, the study's main goal was to assess how the repeated exposure approach can impact consumer's liking and sensory perception of different insect-based products. At the same time, these products were compared with commercially available plant-based analogue products, as these types of products can be targeted to the same market. For each group of products, the impact of repeated exposure on participants exposed to the products in a household context was compared with a group of participants who had no intervention at home. This comparative assessment was carried out in a sensory laboratory environment. Five different insect and plant-based products were assessed on a 9-point hedonic scale with open comments to complement the analysis by two panels of 58 participants. Significant differences were found between products throughout the exposure, with most products decreasing the liking scores between exposures. However, no significant differences concerning exposure were identified between the intervention and non-intervention groups. Regarding the evaluation of the samples according to the different exposure groups, it was observed that there was no noticeable impact of exposure on the evaluation of the insect-based products evaluated by the intervention group and the plant-based products tasted by the non-intervention group. This study reinforces the impact of repeated exposure on the overall liking levels of the samples, with valuable findings on sensory perception that can be translated into insect-based product development.
- Improving formulation of innovative edible insect-based crispbread containing Tenebrio molitor or Acheta domesticus through sensory profiling and likingPublication . Rocha, C.; Ribeiro, J. C.; Barbosa, B.; Lima, R. C.; Osimani, A.; Aquilanti, L.; Cesaro, C.; Costa, A. I. A.; Roos, N.; Cunha, L. M.Abstract One of the critical factors in increasing consumer acceptance of edible insects is the development of appropriate products that lead to satisfactory sensory experiences. This way, the negative associations with entomophagy can be hampered, and developed products can be more successfully integrated into consumers' diets. This research aimed to integrate consumers into the food product development process, achieving crispbread formulations with increased acceptance and liking. Crispbread was developed with different formulations and sensory profiles, incorporating house cricket Acheta domesticus or yellow mealworm Tenebrio molitor. Two panels of 50 and 100 untrained consumers evaluated the crispbreads incorporating A. domesticus and T. molitor, respectively. The panels rated overall liking (9-point hedonic scale) and profiled the crispbreads using a Check-All-That-Apply ballot. Regardless of insect species and formulation, all the samples were accepted by consumers with hedonic scores above 5.5. Significant differences were observed between formulations for both insect species, with the chives-based crispbread having the highest liking scores and the incorporation of fennel seeds leading to the lowest liking scores. It was also possible to observe an effect of species, as crispbreads incorporating A. domesticus presented lower hedonic scores and higher association with negative attributes related to odour/flavour ('Earthy', 'Pet Food', 'Bitter) and texture ('Floury'). The results from this study highlight the importance of assessing consumers' opinions while developing insect-based food products, demonstrating that Portuguese consumers present higher liking scores of products incorporating T. molitor and chives.