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- Food product development: whey cheese with pumpkin jamPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Costa, Elisa; Santos, Sandra; Correia, Ana Cristina; Correia, Paula; Pato, LúciaIn Portugal a popular desert is whey cheese with pumpkin jam. However, these two products are only sold separately. Having in mind that the production of a combination of these two would be potentially interesting for new food commercializing, studies were conducted on the development of this new food product. A sensorial evaluation and a consumer study were conducted to perceive how consumers accepted this new product. The sensorial evaluation consisted of a descriptive analysis, with a panel of 17 tasters. The parameters evaluated using five points hedonic scales were: homogeneity in colour, homogeneity of the product, milk aroma, intensity of aroma, intensity of taste, salty taste, milk taste, sweetness, consistency and presence of granules. The results of the classification given to the different parameters evaluated in the sensorial analysis showed that only the salty taste received a classification of 2 (in a scale of 1 to 4), whereas all the others had 4 or 5, indicating that the panellists appreciated the product. Regarding the consumer study, this was performed by applying questionnaires to 100 persons. The results showed that almost 60 % of the enquired referred liking whey cheese with pumpkin jam. As to the frequency of consumption, the majority does it monthly, but there is still a good deal of people who do it daily. From the results obtained, it can be inferred that this product can be a successful innovation in the Portuguese dairy industry.
- Effect of Drying Temperature on the Physical-chemical and Sensorial Properties of Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.)Publication . Guiné, Raquel; Correia, Paula; Correia, Ana Cristina; Gonçalves, Fernando; Brito, Mariana; Ribeiro, JéssicaBackground: Eggplant is an important crop, being cultivated and consumed in many countries. However, like other vegetables, is highly perishable and has a short shelf life. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of hot air drying on some physical, chemical and sensorial properties of eggplant. Methods: Eggplant samples were dried in convective chambers at constant temperatures of 50, 60, 70 and 80°C. The fresh and dried samples were evaluated for moisture, water activity, vitamin C, total phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, colour and texture. To complement the study, a sensorial evaluation was made by a consumer panel. Results: The results showed that drying decreased importantly the contents of vitamin C and phenolic compounds as well as antioxidant activity. Moreover, the negative impact was higher for higher drying temperatures. Drying also altered the colour, turning the samples darker. The textural properties were similarly considerably altered by drying, although the temperature did not show significant influence. Regarding the sensorial evaluation, even though it allowed establishing the sensory profiles of the dried samples, it was not possible to clearly distinguish among them, particularly the global appreciation. Conclusion: It was concluded that the drying operation substantially changed the physical, chemical and sensory properties of eggplant. Furthermore, the drying temperature had higher effect on the chemical components and colour and nor so much on the texture.
- Consumers’ Perceptions about Edible Insects’ Nutritional Value and Health Effects: Study Involving 14 CountriesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Florença, Sofia De Guiné E; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Boustani, Nada M.; Matran, Irina; Jakšić, Krešimir; Chuck-Hernández, Cristina; Bartkiene, Elena; Djekic, Ilija; Papageorgiou, Maria; Arias, Leticia G.; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Klava, Dace; Ferreira, Vanessa; Damarli, Emel; Ferreira, ManuelaDownload PDFsettingsOrder Article Reprints This is an early access version, the complete PDF, HTML, and XML versions will be available soon. Open AccessFeature PaperArticle Consumers’ Perceptions about Edible Insects’ Nutritional Value and Health Effects: Study Involving 14 Countries by Raquel P. F. Guiné 1,*ORCID,Sofia G. Florença 1ORCID,Cristina A. Costa 1ORCID,Paula M. R. Correia 1ORCID,Nada M. Boustani 2ORCID,Irina Matran 3ORCID,Krešimir Jakšić 4ORCID,Cristina Chuck-Hernández 5ORCID,Elena Bartkiene 6ORCID,Ilija Djekic 7ORCID,Maria Papageorgiou 8ORCID,Leticia G. Arias 9ORCID,Malgorzata Korzeniowska 10ORCID,Maša Černelič-Bizjak 11ORCID,Dace Klava 12ORCID,Vanessa Ferreira 13ORCID,Emel Damarli 14ORCID andManuela Ferreira 15ORCID 1 CERNAS-IPV Research Centre, Polytechnic University of Viseu, 3504-510 Viseu, Portugal 2 Faculty of Business and Administration, Saint Joseph University, Beirut 1104 2020, Lebanon 3 Department of Community Nutrition and Food Safety, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science, and Technology of Targu Mures, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania 4 Department of Psychology, University of Zadar, 23000 Zadar, Croatia 5 Tecnologico de Monterrey, The Institute for Obesity Research, Monterrey 64849, Mexico 6 Department of Food Safety and Quality, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, LT-47181 Kaunas, Lithuania 7 Department of Food Safety and Quality Management, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia 8 Department of Food Science and Technology, International Hellenic University, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece 9 BALAT Research Group, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of León, 24071 León, Spain 10 Faculty of Food Science, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, 51-630 Wrocław, Poland add Show full affiliation list * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Animals 2024, 14(11), 1631; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14111631 Submission received: 6 May 2024 / Revised: 25 May 2024 / Accepted: 29 May 2024 / Published: 30 May 2024 Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Versions Notes Simple Summary Climate change is one of the drivers of change towards sustainable food systems food security. Therefore, food security is a priority all around the world and across different sectors of society. Edible insects are recommended as a sustainable source of food of animal origin, but their acceptance is very diverse across cultures and countries. Therefore, our work investigated the perceptions of consumers about edible insects in 14 countries. We concluded that depending on origin, the level of knowledge is different, which is a starting point to design more focused campaigns to promote EIs, not only in non-insect-eating countries, but also in insect-eating countries. Better knowledge about the health effects of EIs and their nutritive value is a driver of change. Abstract Insects have been consumed for time immemorial in many regions of the globe. However, in other parts, they are not traditionally eaten. Because they are a more sustainable source of animal protein and provide valuable nutrients as well as bioactive compounds with beneficial effects on the human body, their consumption is encouraged. Knowledge can serve as a tool for better acceptance of insects as food. In this context, the present work investigated the knowledge about the nutritional value and health effects of edible insects in different countries. Data were collected by employing a questionnaire survey translated into the different languages of all participating countries and were treated using statistical tools. A total of 7222 responses were obtained. The results indicated that for many issues, the participants manifested a neutral opinion (neither agree nor disagree), but the participants who manifested agreement/disagreement were generally well informed. They were also able to identify untrue facts and answer accordingly by disagreeing. Factor analysis showed four groups of questions: nutritive value, negative perception and risks, safety and benefits of insects and contamination and harmful components. Finally, significant differences were observed according to the sociodemographic variables studies (sex, age, education, living environment and country), with age and country being the most influential of the sociodemographic factors on knowledge. Therefore, increasing knowledge is envisaged as an essential factor in augmenting the recognition of edible insects as a nutritional food, presenting health benefits apart from being a more sustainable source of animal protein when compared with beef or pork meats.
- Designing training in organic farming on a multinational basisPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Costa, Daniela; Correia, Paula; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Esteves Correia, Helena; Castro, Moises; Guerra, Luis T; Seeds, Catherine; Coll, Collette; Radics, Laszlo; Arslan, Meahmet; Soylu, Soner; Tothova, Monika; Toth, Peter; Basile, SalvatorePurpose – The purpose of this paper is to obtain information to characterize potential trainees seeking training programs about organic farming in the form of mobile learning. This information is expected to allow for establishing a set of guidelines to design mobile training opportunities that could match the potential clients ’ wishes. Design/methodology/approach – For this survey an on-line questionnaire was used, translated into the languages of the participating countries (Portugal, Spain, Slovakia, Hungary, UK, Italy and Turkey), and in the end 133 consented valid questionnaires were obtained. The data analysis was made with SPSS and included basic descriptive statistics, crosstabs and χ 2 tests, considering a level of significance of 5 per cent. Findings – The results obtained in the present study indicate that designing training programs in organic farming for a wide target population should attend to the differences between countries, which showed to significantly influence the preferences of the possible clients for this type of training.Practical implications – This study provided valuable information for use in the preparation of training programs for adults who want to expand their knowledge on organic farming, in order to prepare courses more in accordance with their preferences. Originality/value – The fact that the study was undertaken in several countries, including North, Central and South Europe, is a positive indicator that globally accepted courses could be implemented successfully. To the knowledge no such work was undertaken up to the present, thus confirming the originality of the study presented.
- Study about some environmental factors that determine people’s food choices in 16 different countriesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferreira, Manuela; Correia, Paula; Leal, Marcela; Ferreira, Vanessa; Rumbak, Ivana; EL-Kenawy, Ayman; Papageorgiou, Maria; Szucs, Viktória; Vittadini, Elena; Klava, Dace; Bartkiene, Elena; Munoz, Lucia; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Tarcea, Monica; Djekic, Ilija; Bizjak, Masa; Isoldi, KathyIn the ambit of the multinational project EATMOT undertaken in 16 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and United States of America) a study was undertaken to evaluate the motivations for food choices as influenced by variables linked to sustainability. In this way aspects related with minimization of transportation and storage of food products, minimization of package or use of eco-materials, respect for animal’s rights and policies of recovery of food surplus were studied. The food sector is a very important one and greatly contributes to the pressure over the ecosystems, either because a great amount of food is produced, many times in intensive regimens, to feed humans on earth or because those foods are nowadays traded all over the world, contributing for the increase of the ecological footprint, and most especially if the transportation requires refrigeration systems. Hence, nowadays consumers may be aware of these problems and condition some of their food choices to these aspects. The research was undertaken by means of a questionnaire survey on nearly 12 thousand participants, from the 16 countries cited above. Briefly, the results indicated that, in general the concerns with environment and sustainability are important for most of the participants. Specifically, 55.2% preferably choose foods form the season and 49.15 prefer to buy local foods. About half of the participants (50.4%) opt for foods that comply with sustainable processing and packaging and the minimal usage of packaging is important to 49.1%. While a great majority, 70.7% try to avoid food waste at home, when it to comes to frequenting restaurants that do not have a recovery policy of food surplus the percentage is much lower, only 18.6%. The animal´s rights are a conditioning factor for food choice for about half of the participants, 49.8%. Still, it was observed that many of the participants did not manifest their opinion, with a percentage varying between 17.2 and 46.7%. These findings are important to understand the level of commitment of the general population around the world with sustainability factors determining their food choices and on the other hand show that there is still an important part of the population that do not take care about sustainability aspects when buying or consuming food, which something that we do several times everyday and year after year.
- Investigation of the Level of Knowledge in Different Countries about Edible Insects: Cluster SegmentationPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Florença, Sofia G.; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Ferreira, Manuela; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Campos, Sofia; Anjos, Ofélia; Chuck-Hernández, Cristina; Sarić, Marijana Matek; Djekic, Ilija; Papageorgiou, Maria; Baro, José M. F.; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Bartkiene, Elena; Tarcea, Monica; Boustani, Nada M.; Klava, Dace; Damarli, EmelThis study aimed to investigate the level of knowledge about edible insects (EIs) in a sample of people from thirteen countries (Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey). Data collection was based on a questionnaire survey applied through online tools between July and November 2021. For data analysis, techniques such as factor analysis, cluster analysis, and chi-square tests were used, with a significance level of 5%. A total of 27 items were used to measure knowledge on a five-point Likert scale. Applying factor analysis with principal components and Varimax rotation, a solution that explains about 55% of variance was obtained. This accounts for four factors that retained 22 of the 27 initial items: F1 = Sustainability (8 items), F2 = Nutrition (8 items), F3 = Production Factors (2 items), and F4 = Health Concerns (4 items). Internal consistency was evaluated through Cronbach’s alpha. The cluster analysis consisted of the application of hierarchical methods followed by k-means and produced three clusters (1—‘fearful’, 2—‘farming,’ and 3—‘ecological’ individuals). The characterisation of the clusters revealed that age did not influence cluster membership, while sex, education, country, living environment, professional area, and income all influenced the composition of the clusters. While participants from Mexico and Spain were fewer in the ‘fearful’ cluster, in those from Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, and Turkey, the situation was opposed. Participants from rural areas were mostly in cluster 2, which also included a higher percentage of participants with lower income. Participants from professional areas linked with biology, food, and nutrition were mostly in cluster 3. In this way, we concluded that the level of knowledge about EIs is highly variable according to the individual characteristics, namely that the social and cultural influences of the different countries lead to distinct levels of knowledge and interpretation of information, thus producing divergent approaches to the consumption of insects—some more reluctant and measuring possible risks. In contrast, others consider EIs a good and sustainable protein-food alternative.
- Edible Insects: Perceptions of Marketing, Economic, and Social Aspects among Citizens of Different CountriesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Florença, Sofia De Guiné E; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Cruz-Lopes, Luísa; Esteves, Bruno; Ferreira, Manuela; Fragata, Anabela; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Campos, Sofia; Anjos, Ofélia; Bartkiene, Elena; Djekic, Ilija; Matran, Irina M.; Čulin, Jelena; Klava, Dace; Chuck-Hernández, Cristina; Korzeniowska, Malgorzata; Boustani, Nada M.; Papageorgiou, Maria; Gutiérrez, Bernardo Prieto; Černelič-Bizjak, Maša; Damarli, Emel; Ferreira, VanessaBecause edible insects (EI) have been, in recent years, recommended as a nutritious animal protein food with enormous environmental advantages over other sources of animal protein for human consumption, studies aimed at investigating the consumer perspective have become more prominent. Hence, this study intended to examine the perceptions of participants from different countries about the commercialization and economic and social impacts of edible insects. The study was made using a questionnaire survey, and data were collected in Brazil, Croatia, Greece, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey. The final number of received answers was 7222 participants. For the treatment of the results, different statistical techniques were used: factor analysis, internal reliability by Cronbach’s alpha, cluster analysis, ANOVA to test differences between groups, and Chi-square tests. The results obtained confirmed the validity of the scale, constituted by 12 out of the 14 items initially considered, distributed by 4 factors: the first related to the economic impact of EIs, the second related to the motivation for consumption of EIs, the third related to the places of purchase of EIs, and the fourth corresponding to a question presented to the participants as a false statement. A cluster analysis allowed identifying three clusters, with significant differences between them according to all the sociodemographic variables tested. Also, it was found that the participants expressed an exceptionally high level of agreement with aspects such as the difficulty in finding EIs on sale, knowledge acting as a strong motivator for EI consumption, and the role of personalities and influencers in increasing the will to consume EIs. Finally, practically all sociodemographic variables were found to be significantly associated with perceptions (country, sex, education, living environment, and income), but not age. In conclusion, the perceptions about EI commercialization were investigated and revealed differences among samples originating from different countries. Moreover, the sociodemographic characteristics of the participants were found to be strongly associated with their perceptions.
- Pêra Passa de Viseu. Contributo para a sua caracterização.Publication . Correia, Paula; Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Ferreira Wessel, Dulcineia; Guiné, RaquelA pêra passa de Viseu é um Produto Agro-Alimentar Tradicional da região da Beira Alta que resulta de um processo tecnológico artesanal reunindo características organolépticas ímpares. A produção de pêra passa de Viseu tem decrescido acentuadamente nos últimos anos, provavelmente devido aos elevados custos de produção, à deficiente promoção do produto e ao desconhecimento das suas qualidades. No sentido de melhorar a produtividade, preservar e valorizar este recurso endógeno da região da Beira Alta e poder vir a contribuir para a criação de uma Denominação de Origem, estamos a desenvolver um trabalho que tem por objectivo caracterizar em termos da produção, tecnologia e propriedades fisíco-químicas a pêra passa de Viseu.
- Family and organic farming. New apprenticeship through m-learningPublication . Costa, Cristina Amaro Da; Correia, Paula; Esteves Correia, Helena; Guiné, Raquel; Gouveia, João paulo; Rodrigues, Pedro; Teixeira, Daniela; Tourino, Luis; Castro, Moises; Basile, SalvatoreRecently, family farming has become a central element in the public debate over its fundamental role in rural areas. Family farms ensure agricultural and forestry production, as well as fishing and grazing, managed by a family that mostly depends on unpaid family labour, both women and men. From the 570 million farms in the world, over 500 million are family farms. There are numerous examples in which, through organic farming, family farming can be lead to new heights of success and innovation, with direct increase in the farm income. The benefits that may accrue from the adoption of organic farming on family farms in Mediterranean countries such as Portugal, Italy and Spain are analysed, together with its impact and major constraints, as well as the contribution that new forms of teaching and learning can give to its spread and success, including through m-learning, as it is the case of the project ECONewFARMERS - Building a future for new farmers in ecological farming through vocational training.
- Influence of emotional determinants on the portuguese food choicesPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Ferrão, Ana Cristina; Correia, Paula; Cardoso, Ana Paula; Ferreira, Manuela; Duarte, JoãoFood choices are a complex system influenced by many factors, such as for example, environmental, political, physiological and emotional. It is well established in the literature that, not only, emotions influence what people choose to eat, but also people’s food choices influence their emotions. Emotional eating is defined as the tendency to eat more in response to negative emotions and can lead to several health problems, namely obesity and eating disorders. Since this is an emergent problem in today’s society, the main goal of this study was to analyse the influence that emotional determinants had on people‘s food choices and also investigate in what extension the particular characteristics of an individual affect the influence that emotional determinants had on people’s food choices. For that purpose, it was created a questionnaire and undertaken a descriptive cross-sectional study on a non-probabilistic sample of 1314 Portuguese participants. To measure the influence that emotional determinants had on the participant’s food choices it was used a scale ranging from -2 to +2, which can be interpreted as follows: [-2.0; -1.5[ - food choices not at all influenced by emotional determinants; [-1.5; -0.5[ - food choices not influenced by emotional determinants; [-0.5; 0.5[ - food choices slightly influenced by emotional determinants; [0.5; 1.5[ - food choices influenced by emotional determinants; [1.5; 2.0] - food choices strongly influenced by emotional determinants. The results revealed that the participants’ food choices were, in general, slightly influenced by emotional determinants (mean scores between -0.5 and 0.5, on scale from -2 to +2). Furthermore, were found significant differences between the groups of all the variables under study (age group, gender, level of education, professional status, area of work or studies, BMI class and the fact that the participants had already experienced an episode of any eating disorder). The participants who already experienced a binge-eating episode were the ones that obtained the highest mean score (0.63 ± 0.79), meaning that in this case, the food choices of those participants were influenced by emotional determinants. Therefore, this study suggests that emotional determinants are influenced by the characteristics of each individual and also that there seems to be a positive association between emotional eating and the existence of eating disorders, especially, binge-eating. Hence, these findings are important to develop and implement strategies that can increase healthier eating habits.