Ana Isabel A. Costa

Quality function deployment in the food industry: a review

This paper presents a detailed literature review on the topic of the application of quality function deployment (QFD) in the food industry. This review is extended with a thorough description of the methodologies involved in the practice of QFD within food companies, exemplified with the help of a case study on ketchup quality improvement. The benefits, drawbacks and challenges of QFDs application in food Research and Development (R&D) are presented and discussed.

A consumer-oriented classification system for home meal replacements

Abstract This paper introduces a new definition and classification system for home meal replacements (HMR), based on convenience attributes as viewed by consumers. An overview of other food classifications, focusing on methodological aspects, is also presented. The classifying criteria chosen (shelf-life and required preparation) and their organisation in a 4×4 matrix structure demonstrated to provide a sound and effective way of classifying HMR. A qualitative analysis of HMR consumption in The Netherlands was performed by application of the developed system. Results showed that the use of a narrow range of HMR is characteristic of Dutch food consumption. The classification system is expected to provide valuable support for consumer-oriented product and process development.

Exploring the use of consumer collages in product design

This paper presents the development, application and evaluation of a method for need identification in food product design, which combines the use of collage techniques and focus groups. Recent findings in neurobiology and psychology have considerable relevance for methodological improvement in consumer research. Based on these findings, a collage and focus group study aiming to identify feelings, emotions and experiences of consumers towards Home Meal Replacements, as well as relevant product attributes, is developed and performed. Its effectiveness is compared with that of (strictly) verbo-centric research previously carried out. Trends in image-based consumer research for product design are discussed.

Designing New Meals for an Ageing Population

Todays ageing population is an ever-increasing, highly diverse group of people wanting to live a healthy and enjoyable life. Seniors increasingly see the importance of eating healthy and delicious food in a pleasant environment in achieving happiness and well-being. Up until now, the food industry has been rather slow in transforming the wealth of available knowledge regarding the nutritional needs and sensory perception of the ageing into new food products. Based on our own and the published research of others, we discuss here how the design of new meals for an ageing population can be tackled by a consumer-led approach to food product development. After a brief overview of the underlying concepts and practices, a detailed description is given of how this approach could be used in the design of Home Meal Replacements for senior households. This description includes also a comprehensive review of the major determinants of food preference and meal choice behavior in a later age. Finally, relevant implications are derived from the work presented and future trends in the technological development of foods for the ageing highlighted.

A Cross-Cultural Study of Cereal Food Quality Perception

Cereal food production and use show substantial heterogeneity across Europe. For a category central in most EU diets, cereal food quality perception is nevertheless surprisingly understudied. With this in mind, 357 Danish, Lithuanian, and Portuguese citizens were interviewed about the importance of several cues and dimensions in their evaluation of the perceived quality of bread, cookies, breakfast cereals, pasta, and vodka. Portuguese and Lithuanians consistently gave a significantly higher average importance than did their Danish counterparts to all the cues and quality dimensions considered for all products. Nevertheless, respondents in all three samples found expected quality dimensions to be much more important than both extrinsic and intrinsic cues across almost all product categories. Dimensions and cues like taste and country-of-origin were the most relevant to Lithuanians, whereas taste, label information and price were the most important for Danes. The cues and dimensions Portuguese found relevant were fairly different and more category-dependent. Cues like store type for bread, brand for breakfast cereals, pasta, and vodka, country-of-origin (COO) for vodka, and price for cookies, pasta, and vodka were more often assessed by the Portuguese as relevant for decision making at the point of purchase. This highlights the need for further cross-cultural research on food quality perception.

Consumer acceptance and sensory profiling of reengineered kitoza products.

Kitoza refers to a traditional way of preparing beef and pork in Madagascar. However, in order to improve some drawbacks previous identified, the product was submitted to a reengineering process. The acceptance and sensory profiling of improved Kitoza products among Portuguese consumers was investigated. A local smoked loin sausage was selected as basis for comparison. Firstly, a Focus Group study was performed to identify sensory descriptors for Kitoza products and explore product perception. Subsequently, a Flash Profile and a consumer sensory acceptance study were conducted. Flash Profiles results showed that beef- and pork-based Kitoza products investigated differed considerably in all sensory dimensions. The Portuguese sausage was characterized as having a more intense and lasting after taste, as well as displaying a higher degree of (meat) doneness. The acceptance study yielded higher overall liking ratings for pork- than for beef-based Kitoza, although the Portuguese sausage remained the most appreciated product.

Influence of flock treatment with the antibiotic tylosin on poultry meat quality: results of a preliminary experiment

The veterinary antibiotic tylosin was administered to broilers at sub-therapeutic and therapeutic levels to study its effect on the quality of poultry breast meat. No statistically significant differences were observed in moisture content, pH, drip loss, colour and extent of lipid oxidation between the breast meat from treated and not treated birds. However, the cooking loss of the meat from the birds administered tylosin was significantly higher than that from the not treated ones. Additionally, the mean shear force of the breast meat was significantly lower for the sub-therapeutically treated broilers than for the not treated and the therapeutically treated ones. It was concluded that the level at which tylosin was administered to the broilers affected the quality of the breast meat, particularly its textural properties.