How environment alters sensory properties; Plant-based product claims flourish

A study published in the Journal of Food Science illustrates how the sensory properties of food can be altered by changing the environment it is consumed in, using virtual reality (VR) to provide an immersive context to the eating experience.

Researchers created a virtual environment by processing custom-recorded 360-degree videos and overlaying audio, text, sensory scales, and images to simulate a typical sensory evaluation ballot within the VR headset.

In a pilot test, participants tasted three identical blue cheese samples in three virtual contexts: a sensory booth, a park bench, and a cow barn. Respondents rated their liking of the sample, as well as its saltiness and pungency, attributes either reflective of one context (pungency in the barn), or presumably unrelated (saltiness). When consumed in the barn context, panelists rated the sample’s flavor as being more pungent.

The results establish a proof of concept that virtual reality immersion can provide context to sensory evaluations sufficient to alter panelists’ perception of a food. In addition, the approach offers advantages in terms of convenience and versatility compared with an artificially constructed physical environment.

Plant-based product claims flourish
Consumer interest in health, sustainability, and ethics is driving plant-based product claims, according to Innova Market Insights, which reported a 62% increase globally (CAGR, 2013–2017), with growth occurring in plant proteins, active botanicals, sweeteners, herbs and seasonings, and coloring foodstuffs.

“The dairy alternatives market has been a particular beneficiary of this trend,” says Lu Ann Williams, director of innovation. Global sales of dairy alternative drinks are set to reach $16.3 billion in 2018 and accounted for over 8% of global dairy launches recorded by Innova Market Insights in 2017, up from 7% over 2016. Actual global launches have more than doubled over a five-year period.

“In the move to offer something new, we are starting to see an increasing variety of non-soy plant-based ingredients, including cereals such as rice, oats, and barley,” notes Williams. “We also noticed an increase in nuts, such as almonds, hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, and macadamias, as well as coconut and more unusual options such as lupin, hemp, and flaxseed.”

Gravitation toward plant-based diets along with interest in vegan, vegetarian, and flexitarian lifestyles and concerns over animal welfare have together served to increase interest. New product development has seen an 11% CAGR for the 2013–2017 period. In addition, global sales in the meat substitutes market are set to grow to $4.2 billion by 2022. Research indicates that four in 10 U.S. consumers increased their consumption of meat substitutes/alternatives during 2017.

Corn processing removes healthy phenolic acids
In a recent set of studies published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, University of Illinois scientists explored what happens to cancer-fighting phenolic acids in corn when it is processed into cornflakes.

“What we found was not particularly good news, but it was interesting,” says Carrie Butts-Wilmsmeyer, lead author of the two studies. “Regardless of the concentration in the grain at the beginning, the dry-milling process removes the majority of phenolics.” The researchers found that the biggest changes in phenolic content were happening at three stages of the dry-milling process: whole kernel, flaking grit, and toasted cornflake.

Despite the less-than-ideal outcome, the studies represent important steps forward for food science researchers and the food processing industry. “Before this project, the only published study on cornflake processing used a sample size of 45 kilograms. We worked with ag engineers to get it down to 100 grams, literally a 450th of the size,” Butts-Wilmsmeyer says.

“Since we now have the process miniaturized and can control everything in the lab, we can also start figuring out how we can change the process to recover more of these compounds in the end product,” says Martin Bohn, co-author of the studies.

“We have to focus on the bran and other ‘waste’ products,” Bohn says. “Is it possible to extract these compounds and fortify the food with them? This is what I think is important. Our study showed that at the beginning, there’s variability in corn hybrids for all these compounds, but through processing, it’s all leveled off, it’s all gone. But they’re still in the co-products, and I think we could actually recover them and add them to the end product.”

Butts-Wilmsmeyer believes fortifying processed foods with health-promoting phenolics could benefit people without easy access to fresh foods, such as Americans living in food deserts. “These itty-bitty compounds are tied to everything,” she says.

FDA to review dairy standards of identity
To ensure food labels use standards of identity that reflect the characteristics consumers expect, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be reviewing its standards of identity for dairy products, with a focus on plant-based foods.

“For instance, we’ve seen a proliferation of products made from soy, almond, or rice calling themselves milk,” explains Commissioner Scott Gottlieb. “However, these alternative products are not the food that has been standardized under the name ‘milk’ and which has been known to the American public as ‘milk’ long before the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) was established.”

Given that the products can vary widely in their nutritional content when compared with cow’s milk, the FDA has decided to examine the differences in relation to potential public health consequences. Gottlieb cites case reports that show feeding rice-based beverages to young children has resulted in a disease called kwashiorkor, a form of severe protein malnutrition.

“Because these dairy alternative products are often popularly referred to as ‘milk,’ we intend to look at whether parents may erroneously assume that plant-based beverages’ nutritional contents are similar to those of cow’s milk, despite the fact that some of these products contain only a fraction of the protein or other nutrients found in cow’s milk.”

Gottlieb says the agency will have an active public process for reviewing its standard and how consumers understand the use of terms like milk on animal-derived and plant-based products. The agency is also looking at how it has enforced the FD&C Act with respect to food names and its own standard of identity for milk and what it means when milk is qualified with words like almond or soy.

Fast food linked to asthma, other allergies
A new review and analysis of published studies reveals a link between fast food consumption and an increased likelihood of having asthma, wheezing illness, and several other allergic diseases such as pollen fever, eczema, and rhino-conjunctivitis.

The analysis, published in Respirology, included 16 studies and determined that poor quality diet is likely a contributor to the development and progression of asthma and wheezing illness via multiple mechanisms.

In terms of different types of fast food consumption, hamburger intake was most prominently associated with allergic diseases in a dose-dependent manner, irrespective of consumers’ income.

Senior author Gang Wang, of West China Hospital, Sichuan University, concluded, “Additional studies are needed to confirm the relationships seen in this analysis, however, and to identify potential causal associations between the consumption of fast food and allergic diseases.”

News Bites
• Archer Daniels Midland has reached an agreement to acquire Rodelle, a premium originator, processor, and supplier of vanilla products.

• B&G Foods has acquired the McCann’s brand of premium Irish oatmeal from TreeHouse Foods for approximately $32 million in cash.

• Beyond Meat opened a 26,000-square-foot research and development center in Los Angeles, which will be seven times the size of the company’s former R&D lab space.

• Blue Diamond recently introduced Almond Protein Powder, which represents the company’s first foray into functional ingredients.

• Conagra Brands completed the divestiture of its Canadian Del Monte processed fruit and vegetable business to Bonduelle Group.

• GEA has worked with Almarai Company in Saudi Arabia to build the nation’s largest and most modern dairy processing facility. The new plant at Al Kharj includes multiple production lines with the capacity to process two million liters of milk a day.

• Private equity firm Brynwood Partners created Hometown Food to acquire a portfolio of brands from J.M. Smucker for $375 million. The portfolio includes the exclusive U.S. rights to the Pillsbury brand’s shelf-stable baking products along with the Hungry Jack, White Lily, Jim Dandy, and Martha White brands.

• Kraft Heinz has opened a new Global Center of Excellence located in Amsterdam. It will be the firm’s largest office in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region.

• Mosa Meat has raised €7.5 million to bring cultured meat to market by 2021. The Dutch start-up presented the world’s first beef burger made directly from cow cells in 2013.

• Quorn Foods has made a £7 million investment in a new Global Innovation Center at its UK headquarters, which is expected to enhance capability in core protein fermentation and new product development.

• Sensient Technologies has acquired Vancouver-based Mazza Innovation Limited, a global leader in botanical extraction technology.

• Stampede Meat has invested more than $36 million to renovate and reopen a former Tyson Foods factory in Sunland Park, N.M., increasing Stampede’s capacity by more than half.

• The Sugar Association launched a redesigned website with the goal of providing a useful tool for consumers seeking facts about sugar.

• United Natural Foods (UNFI) and SUPERVALU have entered into a definitive agreement under which UNFI will acquire SUPERVALU for approximately $2.9 billion, including the assumption of outstanding debt and liabilities.

Margaret Malochleb,
Associate Editor
[email protected]