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The use of polysaccharides increases solubility and consistency and causes functions such as viscosity? Moisture and food emulsifier stabilizer. This study aims to enrich the formulation of low-fat mozzarella cheese using microcoated vitamin D3 (VD3).

This study investigates the addition of hydrocolloids to low-fat mozzarella cheese to enhance its properties and nutritional value. Tests were conducted on cheese samples with 0.05% and 0.25% hydrocolloid concentrations at various stages: before production and at three and six months’ postproduction. The samples were evaluated for elasticity, pH and solubility to select the best one, which was then fortified with VD3. The vitamin was microencapsulated using alginate and whey protein to shield it from light and oxygen, optimizing the formula using the response surface method. The fortified cheese was tested for VD3 content over its shelf life.

Results indicated that all hydrocolloids tested improved moisture and meltability of the cheese while higher protein levels increased stretchability two to threefold. Rice starch hydrocolloid at 0.05% concentration was chosen due to superior sensory scores and minimal oil separation. This study concluded that VD3 levels remained stable during the cheese’s shelf life, suggesting that this approach could enhance the nutritional value of low-fat cheese without compromising its quality. Therefore, after examining the obtained results and comparing the regression models, the results indicated that the Quadratic model was chosen to investigate the effect of independent variables on the response rate, which had a statistically significant difference with other models (p = 0.0019). Also the results of the area under the curve and using the encapsulation efficiency equation, the percentage of microencapsulated vitamin was obtained, and according to the simulation results, the encapsulation efficiency was reported as 89.02%.

Developing innovative functional dairy products fortified with VD3 could improve the vitamin D status in deficient populations. Therefore, these designs can be applied at industrial scales for functional cheese production.

Goat milk yoghurt differs from cow milk yoghurt in that it has a different casein composition and content, which presents several technical challenges, including consistency with an appropriate flavor.

In this study, the antioxidant potential and phytochemical profiling of the fruits (pineapple and papaya) and vegetable (carrot) extracts was evaluated and the effect of their purees on the quality and stability of stirred goat milk yoghurt (GMY) were investigated. The qualities of stirred GMY with carrot (CrY), pineapple (PaY) and papaya (PpY) purees were assessed against the product without puree (CY).

The carrot puree had the highest moisture, ash contents and pH value. The carrot extract had the highest DPPH radical scavenging activity, while the pineapple extract had the highest total phenolic value (1.59 µg GAE/g) and flavonoids content (0.203 µg CE/g). The scanning of all the puree extracts in GC-MS indicated that 5-hydroxymethylfurfural was a major component. The phytochemical quantification of the extracts through multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) against 16 compounds showed the presence of sinapic acid, cinnamic acid, pthalic acid, ferulic acid, 4-OH-benzoic acid, 3-OH-benzoic acid, p-coumaric acid, caffeic acid and vanillic acid in different quantities. The addition of purees and storage period had a significant (p < 0.05) effect on the moisture, pH, titratable acidity, syneresis, viscosity, color values and sensory properties of the products. In all the samples after 15 days of storage, Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus counts remained above the recommended level of 106CFU/g. Stirred GMY sample produced with pineapple puree showed a higher syneresis and viscosity, but the CrY sample demonstrated the highest antioxidant activity. The developed formulations remained stable with minimum changes in quality and sensory attribute during refrigerated storage for 10 days.

This study suggests that addition of fruit and vegetable improve the viscosity and sensory perception of the product with minimal use of synthetic flavor and preservatives.

At the end of this case study discussion, the learners should be able to identify the five-step consumer decision-making process, comprehend the role of consumer involvement and decision rules in determining the consumer choice sets, identify branding elements and cues critical to building a brand proposition, recognize the difference between point-of-parity and point-of-differentiation when building a brand proposition, develop comprehensive segment profiles in terms of their demographics, psychographics, usage and consumer–brand relationships and examine the merit of a psychographic versus benefit-based brand positioning and implication of the brand positioning on the firm’s branding and business strategy.

Country Delight, co-founded by Nitin Kaushal and Chakradhar Gade, tackled dairy industry challenges by embracing a direct-to-home consumer model, emphasizing consumer insights and maintaining stringent quality standards. In 2022, the company embraced “Live Better” as its brand mantra, advocating for healthier lifestyles. The next leg of the brand’s journey thus mandates crafting a distinct, user-specific brand promise that affiliates with the business strategy. The central dilemma revolves around identifying the consumer segment/s for a sustained relationship. While recognizing consumer pain points, the challenge emerges in aligning the brand proposition with the diverse interpretations of “Live Better” among consumers. The quest for the right brand persona prompts crucial questions about uniting distinct segments and devising a coherent communication strategy. Can Country Delight formulate a universally resonant brand promise that harmonizes across all consumer groups? Will the risk of diverse interpretations lead to fragmenting Country Delight’s brand narrative?

This teaching activity is aimed at Masters of Business Administration-level courses in marketing management, consumer behavior and brand management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CCS8: Marketing.

Globally, consumer’s inclination towards functional foods had noticed due to their greater health consciousness coupled with enhanced health-care cost. The fact that probiotics could promote a healthier gut microbiome led projection of probiotic foods as functional foods and had emerged as an important dietary strategy for improved human health. It had established that ice cream was a better carrier for probiotics than fermented milked due to greater stability of probiotics in ice cream matrix. Global demand for ice cream boomed and probiotic ice cream could have been one of the most demanded functional foods. The purpose of this paper was to review the technological aspects and factors affecting probiotic viability and to standardize methodology to produce functional probiotic ice cream.

Attempt was made to search the literature (review and researched papers) to identify diverse factors affecting the probiotic viability and major technological challenge faced during formulation of probiotic ice cream. Keywords used for data searched included dairy-based functional foods, ice cream variants, probiotic ice cream, factors affecting probiotic viability and health benefits of probiotic ice cream.

Retention of probiotic viability at a level of >10⁶ cfu/ml is a prerequisite for functional probiotic ice creams. Functional probiotic ice cream could have been produced with the modification of basic mix and modulating technological parameters during processing and freezing. Functionality can be further enhanced with the inclusion of certain nutraceutical components such as prebiotics, antioxidant, phenolic compounds and dietary fibres. Based upon reviewed literature, suggested method for the manufacture of functional probiotic ice cream involved freezing of a probiotic ice cream mix obtained by blending 10% probiotic fermented milk with 90% non-fermented plain ice cream mix for higher probiotic viability. Probiotic ice cream with functional features, comparable with traditional ice cream in terms of technological and sensory properties could be produced and can crop up as a novel functional food.

Probiotic ice cream with functional features may attract food manufacturers to cater health-conscious consumers.

Output from the Irish Dairy Industry has grown rapidly since the abolition of quotas in 2015, with processors investing heavily in capacity expansion to deal with the extra milk volumes. Further capacity gains may be achieved by extending the processing season into the winter, a key enabler for which being the reduction of duration of the winter maintenance overhaul period. This paper aims to investigate if Lean Six Sigma tools and techniques can be used to enhance operational maintenance performance, thereby releasing additional processing capacity.

Combining the Six-Sigma Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control (DMAIC) methodology and the structured approach of Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) widely used in process industries creates a novel hybrid model that promises substantial improvement in maintenance overhaul execution. This paper presents a case study applying the DMAIC/TAM model to Ireland’s largest dairy processing site to optimise the annual maintenance shutdown. The objective was to deliver a 30% reduction in the duration of the overhaul, enabling an extension of the processing season.

Application of the DMAIC/TAM hybrid resulted in process enhancements, employee engagement and a clear roadmap for the operations team. Project goals were delivered, and original objectives exceeded, resulting in €8.9m additional value to the business and a reduction of 36% in the duration of the overhaul.

The results demonstrate that the model provides a structure that promotes systematic working and a continuous improvement focus that can have substantial benefits for wider industry. Opportunities for further model refinement were identified and will enhance performance in subsequent overhauls.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time that the structure and tools of DMAIC and TAM have been combined into a hybrid methodology and applied in an Irish industrial setting.

This study aims to identify how Spanish consumers’ extrinsic preferences for food have evolved by examining the extant literature on food preferences in Spain, focusing on food-related attributes and food-related values.

This study is based on a synthetic review of the extant academic literature on Spanish consumer preferences for food-related attributes and food-related values from the mid-20th to the 21st century. This study uses key economic and social milestones that are most likely to influence food value chain actors to show how consumer preferences have evolved over the study period.

Spanish consumer food attribute preferences expanded as the food sector of the nation continued to grow, and value preferences showed a similar pattern from the mid-20th to the 21st century. The drivers of these preferences were trust, lifestyle, education (campaigns), sociodemographic factors and purchasing power.

Evaluating the extant literature’s contribution to consumer preferences for food-related attributes and values is important because it can aid in understanding the hierarchy and variety of consumers’ food preferences as well as the factors that drive these preferences. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore how Spanish consumer preferences evolved between the mid-20th and 21st centuries.

Cognitive decline and dementia are major causes of disability. Research has suggested a relationship between dietary intake and memory problems in individuals. This study aims to examine the dietary histories of participants with newly diagnosed memory problems.

A total of 285 subjects (129 cases and 156 controls) were included in this retrospective case−control study. This paper used a food frequency questionnaire to determine the intake of dietary food groups in the previous year and a general questionnaire to assess food habits. The strength of the association between dietary history and memory problems was assessed using logistic regression and Pearson’s tests.

In this study, 73% of participants had a lower middle income and consumed less than the recommended number of meats, fruits and vegetables (1.2, 1.8 and 0.99 units/day, respectively). Participants with memory problems were more likely to take supplements than those without (P = 0.01). There was no significant difference in energy intake between the case and control groups (1634 Kcal vs 1656 Kcal). The results of the logistic regression showed that consuming any of the food groups in the previous nine months was not associated with memory problems. However, the Pearson test showed that an increase in the consumption of high-quality protein and vegetables had a slightly nonsignificant relationship with a decrease in the severity of memory disorder.

It is safe to suggest consuming adequate amounts of high-quality protein and affordable protein from sources such as dairy products, meats and vegetables. Research is insufficient to recommend the use of dietary supplements as a means of preventing memory disorders.

The rising number of food recalls has raised concerns about complexity, globalization and weak governance in the food supply chain. This paper aims to investigate the recall of plant-based products with data from the US Food and Drug Administration.

Introducing the structural topic modeling method allowed us to test theories on recall in the context of sustainable food consumption, enhancing the understanding of food recall processes. This approach helps identify latent topics of product recalls and their interwoven relationships with various stakeholders.

The results answer a standing research call for empirical investigation in a nascent food industry to identify stakeholders’ engagements for food safety crisis management for corporate social responsibility practices. This finding provides novel insights on managing threats to food safety at an industry level to extend existing antecedents and consequences of product recall at a micro level.

For practitioners, this empirical finding may provide insights into stakeholder management and develop evidence-based strategies to prevent threats to food safety. For public policymakers, this analysis may help identify patterns of recalls and assist guidelines and alarm systems (e.g. EU’s Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) on threats in the food supply chain.

Two detected clusters, such as opportunisms of market actors in the plant-based food system and food culture, from the analysis help understand corporate social responsibility and food safety in the plant-based food industry.

Functional foods have been marketed as promoting health and reducing the risk of disease. While the market of functional foods is increasing across the globe, little is known about how actual and subjective health status are related to functional food choices and existing research evidence is inconsistent. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to systematically explore the relationship between functional food choices and perception related dimensions vs medical dimensions.

The study used data collected from a large-scale mail survey in Japan (N = 8,368) and a representative Internet survey in Lithuania (N = 900). It used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed conceptual model.

The general results indicated that functional foods could be used to maintain one’s subjective health status – the frequency of using functional food products was positively related to consumers’ subjective health status (p = 0.04). However, if consumers were experiencing health-related issues (self-reported disease symptoms or current medical treatment), there was no systematic relationship between such experience and the usage of functional food products.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to systematically analyze the relationship between subjective health status, self-reported disease symptoms, current medical treatment and the frequency of using different functional food product groups. The findings indicated that it is important to simultaneously consider different underlying factors, such as specific to functional food targeted disease symptoms and specific food product groups, which contributed to a more thorough understanding of functional food consumption.

This study aims to evaluate the nutrient content and acceptable qualities of plant-based burger patties (PBBP) formulated with chickpea flour, defatted sesame cake (DSC) flour, coffee silver skin and pomegranate juice as colorant.

The chemical composition, energy value, cholesterol content, amino acid composition, cooking loss, pH, color characteristics and sensory attributes of PBBP were analyzed using official procedures and compared to beef burger. 

PBBP had a protein value of 16.0 g/100g, which is nearly close to the protein content of the beef burger (18.1 g/100g). The fat content of the PBBP was approximately three times lower than that of the beef burger. The fiber content in PBBP was approximately 23 times as high as that in beef burgers samples (p = 0.05). The raw PBBP samples supplies 178 Kcal/100g, whereas beef burger possessed 259 Kcal/100g. Neither the raw nor the cooked PBBP samples contained any cholesterol. Both the beef and PBBP displayed acceptability scores higher than 7.0, which suggests that PBBP was well accepted.

It is concluded that the PBBP sample exhibited a protein value of 16.0 g/100g, which is comparable to the protein level of beef burgers (18.1 g/100g). The fat level of the PBBP samples was significantly lower than that of the beef burger samples. Uncooked PBBP samples contained significantly higher fiber content compared to beef burger samples. No cholesterol was found in raw or cooked PBBP samples. Overall acceptance scores for both beef and PBBP samples exceeded 7.0, suggesting that the proposed product (PBBP) was received favorably.