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.

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.

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.