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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.

After reading and discussing this case study, students will be able to explain the concept of diffusion of innovation and predict how the passion fruit-infused vinaigrette (PFIV) might spread throughout the Thai market; analyze the market environment for condiments in Thailand and identify specific opportunities that Preedha Vinchit and her team should consider for the successful launch of the PFIV; interpret both qualitative and quantitative data gathered by the new product development (NPD) team and discuss its implications for the product’s market strategy and development; and critique the initial launch plan proposed by Krit Anon, suggest practical strategies and calculate the break-even point necessary to meet the project’s financial goals.

During July 2023, Vinchit, product marketer at the Thani Food Institute (TFI), faced a critical decision regarding the launch of the APFIV. Developed from TFI’s patented passion fruit peel powder, the PFIV offered functional benefits and addressed the sustainable use of passion fruit resources. As COVID-19 restrictions eased, TFI’s board of advisors anticipated a successful market entry for PFIV. Anon, culinologist and chef behind PFIV’s formulation, expressed keen interest in launching it independently with a startup investment of THB 500,000 (US$14,388). Vinchit, with market research and home-use test results indicating positive consumer reception in hand, contemplated whether to proceed with a launch plan of TFI’s design or endorse Anon’s entrepreneurial venture. Critical considerations included market viability, strategic partnerships, target demographics and marketing strategies encompassing pricing, distribution and promotional campaigns. The decision hinged on maximizing PFIV’s market potential amidst Thailand’s robust condiment consumption and growing health awareness.

This case study can be used in undergraduate and graduate courses in entrepreneurship, food product development, marketing strategy, market research and innovation on topics including NPD, opportunity identification, concept testing, consumer research analysis, marketing strategy formulation, business/financial analysis and launch strategies. This case study may be more useful in the middle or later parts of a course or module when an instructor is focusing on any or all stages of the NPD process and the strategic decisions, particularly for aspiring entrepreneurs with limited resources. Additionally, students should have developed at least some preliminary understanding of qualitative and quantitative research methods. This case study has been very effective in demonstrating various organizational processes and decision-making tools, which allow students to apply strategy frameworks and systematically evaluate several alternatives.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 3: Entrepreneurship.

This paper aims to examine the influence of supply chain management by assessing the relationship between internal and external integration and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) owners’ Islamic practices in enhancing halal supply chain integrity (HSCI) and SMEs’ performance.

A total of 176 SMEs were surveyed using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample was selected using convenience sampling from two major halal exhibition events in Malaysia. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The findings showed that supply chain integration (SCI), Islamic human capital and HSCI have a significant relationship with SMEs’ performance. It was also found that HSCI mediated the relationship between both SCI and Islamic human capital and SMEs’ performance.

SME owners or managers should be committed to developing the internal processes within the organization and strategizing to link these processes with the external processes to obtain the full benefits of integration. Furthermore, as the upper management, owners and managers must understand the supply chain challenges, priorities and practices thoroughly, as they are responsible for Islamic business ethics. They should work to provide support to increase religious orientation in the SMEs, as this would likely enhance all other factors.

This is one of the few types of research to use HSCI as a mediator in halal food studies in addition to improving SMEs’ performance.

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.

This study aims to increase knowledge of the ability of nutrition labels to guide consumer choices in real-life environments.

Food consumption and plate waste data were collected from two self-service restaurants (SSR) with different customer groups over six observation days: three control and three intervention (with nutrition labelling) periods. Study Group 1 consisted of vocational school students, mostly late adolescents (N = 1,710), and Group 2 consisted of spa hotel customers, mostly elderly (N = 1,807). In the experimental restaurants, the same food was served to the buffets during the control and intervention periods.

The nutrition label in the lunch buffet guides customers to eat fewer main foods and salads and to select healthier choices. Increased consumption of taste enhancers (salt and ketchup) was observed in the study restaurants after nutritional labelling. Nutrition labelling was associated with a reduction in plate waste among the elderly, whereas the opposite was observed among adolescents.

The results provide public policymakers and marketers with a better understanding of the effects of nutrition labelling on consumer behaviour. Future studies should further evaluate the effects of nutrition labelling on the overall quality of customer diets and the complex environmental, social, and psychological factors affecting food choices and plate waste accumulation in various study groups.

This study emphasizes the growing significance of destination attributes in shaping the experiences and behaviours of gastronomy and culinary tourists. Understanding both core and complementary attributes of a gastronomy tourism destination is crucial for its sustainable development. However, there is a lack of a reliable measurement for tourists’ perceived attributes of gastronomy tourism destinations (PAGTD). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure tourists’ PAGTD.

The study systematically followed the scale development and validation process, using three samples (Sample 1, n = 200; Sample 2, n = 204; and Sample 3, n = 204) to establish the psychometric properties of the proposed PAGTD scale.

The validated scale comprises five dimensions, namely, food culture, food sensations, food cooking, service environment, and food price & quality, encompassing a total of 22 measurement items.

This research significantly contributes to the gastronomy tourism literature by elucidating the dimensionality of PAGTD and validating the PAGTD scale.

目的地属性对美食游客的体验和行为的影响日渐凸显。理解美食旅游目的地的核心属性和补充属性对目的地可持续发展至关重要。然而, 目前还缺乏一份测量游客感知的美食旅游目的地属性（PAGTD）的量表。因此, 本文旨在开发并验证游客感知的美食旅游目的地属性量表（PAGTD量表）。

本文严格遵循量表开发与验证的程序, 利用三份样本（样本1, n=200; 样本2, n=204; 样本3, n=204）建立了PAGTD量表的信度和效度。

经过验证, PAGTD量表包括5个维度：美食文化、美食感官因素、美食烹饪、服务环境、美食价格与质量, 共计22个测项。

本文不仅阐明了游客感知的美食旅游目的地属性的多维结构, 还开发并验证了一份具有良好信效度的PAGTD量表。

Este estudio hace hincapié en la creciente importancia de los atributos de los destinos a la hora de configurar las experiencias y los comportamientos de los turistas gastronómicos y culinarios. Comprender tanto los atributos principales como los complementarios de un destino turístico gastronómico es crucial para su desarrollo sostenible. Sin embargo, se carece de una medición fiable de los atributos percibidos por los turistas de los destinos de turismo gastronómico (PAGTD). Por lo tanto, el objetivo de este estudio es desarrollar una escala para medir los PAGTD de los turistas.

El estudio siguió sistemáticamente el proceso de desarrollo y validación de la escala, utilizando tres muestras (Muestra 1, n=200; Muestra 2, n=204; y Muestra 3, n=204) para establecer las propiedades psicométricas de la escala PAGTD propuesta.

La escala validada comprende cinco dimensiones: saber, cultura alimentaria, sensaciones alimentarias, cocina de los alimentos, entorno del servicio y precio y calidad de los alimentos, que abarcan un total de 22 ítems de medición.

Esta investigación contribuye significativamente a la literatura sobre turismo gastronómico al dilucidar la dimensionalidad del PAGTD y validar la escala PAGTD.

In this case study, we examine how a citrus peel valorising company based in the Netherlands was able to adopt a circular business model while navigating regulatory, managerial, and supply chain-related barriers.

In-depth, semi-structured interviews with key personnel in the company, notes from field observations, photographs of the production process, and documents from a legal judgement served as data for this single, qualitative case study. Data were coded inductively using the in vivo technique and were further developed into four themes and a case description.

Results from our study indicate that the regulatory and political contexts in the Netherlands were critical to the company’s success. Like in the case of most fruitful industrial symbioses, partnerships founded on mutual trust and economically appealing value propositions played a crucial role in ensuring commercial viability. Collaborating with larger corporations and maintaining transparent communication with stakeholders were also significant contributing factors. Lastly, employees’ outlook towards circularity combined with their willingness to learn new skills were important driving factors as well.

In addition to expanding the scholarship on the adoption of circular business models, this research offers novel insights to policymakers and practitioners. It provides empirical evidence regarding the importance of public awareness, adaptable legislation, and harmonised policy goals for supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in the circular economy.

Three-dimensional (3D) food printing is an innovative technology used to customize food products through the integration of digital technology and food ingredients. The purpose of this study is to assess the current state of research in the field of 3D food printing, identify trending topics and identify promising future research directions.

This bibliometric review systematically evaluates the field of 3D food printing using data from published literature in the Web of Science database. After reference screening, 812 articles were included in the analysis.

The result reveals that research in 3D food printing primarily focuses on the optimization and characterization of mechanical and rheological properties of food inks and that post-printing processing, such as laser treatment, has emerged recently as an important consideration in 3D food printing. However, extant works lack animal and human studies that demonstrate the functionality of 3D-printed food.

This sophisticated bibliometric analysis uncovered the most studied current research topics and the leading figures in the area of 3D food printing, providing promising future research directions.

The aim was not to perform a systematic review but firstly to search in PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science databases on the papers published in the last five years using tools for reviewing the statement of preferred information item for systematic reviews without focusing on a randomized analysis and secondly to perform a bibliometric analysis on the properties of films and coatings added of tocopherol for food packaging.

On January 24, 2022, information was sought on the properties of films and coatings added of tocopherol for use as food packaging published in PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science databases. Further analysis was performed using bibliometric indicators with the VOSviewer tool.

The searches returned 33 studies concerning the properties of films and coatings added of tocopherol for food packaging, which were analyzed together for a better understanding of the results. Data analysis using the VOSviewer tool allowed a better visualization and exploration of these words and the development of maps that showed the main links between the publications.

In the area of food science and technology, the development of polymers capable of promoting the extension of the shelf life of food products is sought, so the knowledge of the properties is vital for this research area since combining a biodegradable polymeric material with a natural antioxidant active is of great interest for modern society since they associate environmental preservation with food preservation.

Research indicated that dietary antioxidants could improve immune system performance. This study aims to investigate the association of COVID-19 symptoms, total antioxidant capacity and serum inflammatory markers, with dietary antioxidants intake among angina patients.

A food frequency questionnaire was used in a cross-sectional study among 135 angina patients with COVID-19, to assess dietary antioxidants consumption. Serum levels of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 1ß, malondialdehyde, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and total antioxidant capacity were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay methods.

Among study angina patients, 76.67% followed unhealthy food patterns and 23.33% followed anti-inflammatory dietary patterns before hospitalization. The angina patients with anti-inflammatory food pattern had less fever (p = 0.021), cough (p = 0.018), dyspnea (p = 0.024), diarrhea (p = 0.014) and pneumonia severity index (p = 0.014) compared to patients with unhealthy food pattern. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor, interleukin 1ß, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and malondialdehyde, had a significantly negative association with dietary antioxidants intake (p < 0.05).

There are significant association between antioxidant intake with serum inflammation markers in COVID-19 patients. There is a need for more clinical trial studies for approval of these results.