Suchergebnisse

The principal motivations for the worldwide trend towards reducing meat consumption are health, the environment and animal welfare. The present study investigated the willingness of omnivores to introduce mixed (beef-vegetable protein) and 100% vegetable protein products into their diet. The participants (n = 251) were young adult omnivores who consumed meat at least once a week. The stimuli were images of six different products representing two beef burgers, two mixed-protein burgers (50% beef and 50% seitan or soy) and two 100% vegetable protein burgers (seitan and soy). The participants were asked to write down spontaneous associations with each product (Word Association technique) and score their expected liking and purchase intention for them. In addition, they completed a questionnaire (36 statements) to evaluate their attitude towards meat reduction, considering six aspects: diet, habits, ethics, hedonism, health, and the environment. According to their response to these statements, they were classified into three attitude groups: anti- (ANTI, n = 106), intermediate- (INTERM, n = 89), and pro- (PRO, n = 56) meat reduction. All the participants expected to like the 100% beef burger most, the PRO group expected to like all six products to a similar degree and the ANTI group expected to like the mixed product significantly more than the 100% vegetable product, indicating that the introduction of mixed proteins could be a small first step towards meat reduction for those most attached to meat. The associations elicited by the different burgers were mostly the same but were mentioned with different frequencies, which also depended on the attitude group. These distinctive association patterns showed clear connections to the motives underlying each group's attitude towards meat reduction. It may be concluded that mixed products would be a reliable although timid option for consumers who are attached to meat to reduce their meat intake, while any of the products containing vegetable proteins would be an option for consumers who are more favourable towards meat reduction. ; The authors are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of the Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (AGL-2016-75403-R) and to the regional government (Generalitat Valenciana Project Prometeo 2017/189) for financial support. Laura Laguna thanks the Spanish "Juan de la Cierva" program for her contract (IJCI-2016-27427). ; Peer reviewed

The objective of the present study was to investigate differences in oral activity when biscuits of the same type but with subtle composition differences are consumed and how performing a Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) task modifies the way one eats. In addition, comparisons were made between performing a texture TDS (T-TDS) and a flavour TDS (F-TDS). Oral activity while eating biscuits with and without conducting a TDS task was recorded using a 3.dimensional motion capture system to monitor the evolution of jaw movements. The results showed that oral activity evolved over the consumption time, differed depending on the texture of the sample and was affected to a small but significant extent when a TDS task was performed simultaneously (the differences averaged <4 cycles, 1 s in duration, 0.1 cycles/s in frequency, and 1 mm in lateral displacement). The biscuit samples were affected equally. Almost no differences were found on comparing oral activity during the execution of the T-TDS and the F-TDS tasks. Overall, the present results show differences in oral activity even for food products of the same category with subtle differences in composition. Performing TDS tasks (regardless of their modality) during sample consumption affected the total number, frequency and lateral amplitude of the chewing movements which should be taken into account for future research. However, these differences were small and affected both samples equally. ; The authors are grateful to the Spanish Ministry of the Economy and Competitiveness (AGL-2016-75403-R, Spain) and to the Regional Government of Valencia (Project Prometeo 2017/189, Spain) for financial support. ; Peer reviewed