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The purpose of this paper is to explore consumers’ health perception and demonstrate its relevance in product and process design in early stages of new product development.

A dried mango was used as a case study involving three countries: Indonesia, China and the Netherlands. Data were collected from nine focus groups (n=53 participants) and were content-analysed to acquire in-depth insights.

Four themes of health perception emerged, namely, nutrition, naturalness, taste and well-being, which were all expressed on different levels of abstractness. Participants’ health perception of dried mango varied, it is related to the product category it is compared with, e.g. candy or fresh fruit, and the eating context, e.g. position in the diet either as a snack or a meal. In extension participants mentioned product and process characteristics. Application of the insights into product and process design was performed through iterative interactions between consumer scientists and food technologists. The development of two product concepts was elaborated to transform the insights into technical product and process specifications for a natural dried mango product.

This transformation suggests that iterative interactions are necessary to achieve relevant product and process characteristics in the simultaneous design of the technical product and process specifications based on consumer perceptions.

The purpose of this scoping review was to summarise the general results of the Chilean Food Law implementation to help to understand how this policy has changed consumer's behaviour.

Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) extension for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines were followed. Five databases were searched for studies published from January 2015 to February 2020 evaluating the Chilean population's perception, behaviour and purchasing habits of processed foods.

The results showed that consumers support the implementation of a front-of-package warning label (FOPWL) and thought it a good strategy to help make healthier food choices for themselves. However, even with a positive perception about these products, the intention-to-change the purchase of unhealthy food occurred only for sugar-sweetened beverages. Meanwhile, children did not stop eating foods that had a FOPWL, although the mothers' perception was that the presence of FOPWLs could be important to differentiate unhealthy from healthy products. The availability of products with FOPWLs at schools decreased, indicating that the law was being complied with and that the child-directed marketing strategy showed a reduction after the first phase of implementation.

This evidence will guide other countries about in understanding and improving this policy.

This is the first study to gather research available in international databases that evaluated the results of the Chilean Law on the advertising of children's food and the perception, purchase intention, reformulation of products and consumption behaviour of the Chilean population.

The purpose of this research is to trace the evolution of the claims used for advertising food products in Italian magazines, by analysing the content and structure of the claims, the target audiences and the elements that have the greatest influence on the presence of the claims in food advertising.

On the basis of the research conducted by Pratt and Pratt (1995), revised and adapted to the Italian food context, the authors designed a matrix of 1,316 advertisements, which were selected based on the analysis of 67,340 advertisements and using the reference to the food sector as a discriminator. The advertisements were extrapolated from a sample of six Italian magazines, so as to determine the extent to which the various demographic groups in Italy are exposed to print advertising for food, beverages and food supplements. The authors examined the frequency of the relevant advertising forms over a period of four years, from January 2014 to December 2017.

The results revealed the main types of claims used in the four-year period, as well as the statistically significant differences between the different magazine panels, as concerns the frequency and the types of messages. Moreover, a strong relationship between the number of advertisements in the magazines and the time of the year was also ascertained, as well as significant gender variations.

This study introduces the trends and dynamics of the Italian printed advertising for food to the relevant scientific literature. The results yielded by this research have added further implications and contributions to the existing studies, as concerns claim diffusion based on type, gender and seasonality, and the authors also provide important insights to various socio-economical stakeholders.

The work described below compares three very different residential typologies in terms of their energy performance in operation. The purpose of this paper is to identify the influence of building typologies and corresponding urban morphologies on operational energy demand and the potential for building integrated energy production.

Two of the typologies studied are apartment buildings while the third comprises single-family homes located on small plots. An important factor under consideration is the insertion into the respective urban design configuration so that mutual shading of the buildings and the ensuing impact on energy performance is evaluated. Heating and cooling demands, as well as the potential for building-integrated electricity production were investigated for four different European climates in a dynamic thermal simulation environment.

The results show that the investigated apartment buildings have a lower operational energy demand than the single-family home in all climates. This advantage is most pronounced in cool climate conditions. At the same time the investigated single-family home has the highest potential for building integrated renewable energy production in all climates. This advantage is most pronounced in low latitudes.

The study builds up on generic buildings that are based on a common urban grid and are easily comparable and scalable into whole city districts. Still, these buildings are planned into such detail, that they provide fully functional floor plans and comply with national building regulations. This approach allows us to draw conclusions on the scale of individual buildings and at an urban scale at the same time.

Poor indoor air quality (IAQ) contributing to occupants’ health symptoms is a universal, typically ventilation-related, problem in schools. In cold climates, low-cost strategies to improve IAQ in a naturally ventilated school are rare since conventional methods, such as window opening, are often inappropriate. This paper aims to present an investigation of strategies to relieve health symptoms among school occupants in naturally ventilated school in Finland.

A case study approach is adopted to thoroughly investigate the process of generating the alternatives of ventilation redesign in a naturally ventilated school where there have been complaints of health symptoms. First, the potential sources of the occupants’ symptoms are identified. Then, the strategies aiming to reduce the symptoms are compared and evaluated.

In a naturally ventilated school, health symptoms that are significantly caused by insufficient ventilation can be potentially reduced by implementing a supply and exhaust ventilation system. Alternatively, it is possible to retain the natural ventilation with reduced number of occupants. The selected strategy would depend considerably on the desired number of users, the budget and the possibilities to combine the redesign of ventilation with other refurbishment actions. Furthermore, the risk of poorer indoor air caused by the refurbishment actions must also be addressed and considered.

This study may assist municipal authorities and school directors in decisions concerning improvement of classroom IAQ and elimination of building-related symptoms. This research provides economic aspects of alternative strategies and points out the risks related to major refurbishment actions.

Since this study presents a set of features related to indoor air that contribute to occupants’ health as well as matters to be considered when aiming to decrease occupants’ symptoms, it may be of assistance to municipal authorities and practitioners in providing a healthier indoor environment for pupils and teachers.

White maize-based porridge is a staple food for about 80 per cent consumers in South Africa and in other sub-Saharan African countries contributing significantly to the diet of rural population in developing countries. White maize is deficient in some amino acids and over-dependency on its porridge may lead to high prevalence of malnutrition-related health conditions. Moringa oleifera (MO) and termite (Macrotermes falciger) are known to contain substantial amount of protein. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of powders from MO leaves and termite on the nutritional and sensory properties of instant maize porridge.

Inclusion of MO and termite powder in instant maize porridge, using different treatments were considered using a completely randomised design. Factor levels were control (maize flour) cooked, blanched and uncooked MO samples. Data were analysed using SPSS version 23.

Protein content of fortified instant maize porridge (FMP) significantly increased from 10.0 to 21.2 per cent compared to unfortified porridge, and this could be attributed to the substitution effect, as fresh uncooked MO leaves are reported to be high in protein. Mineral content of FMP was higher in zinc, iron, calcium and magnesium. Calcium values of FMP were higher (276.8 mg/100 g) compared to unfortified porridge (7.1 mg/100 g). Upon the addition of MO leaves and termite powder, the zinc content increased from 3.4 mg/100to 7.6 mg/100 g. Higher iron values (27.9-36.9 mg/100 g) were observed among fortified samples. The sensory result showed that control sample had higher acceptance than the fortified samples (p = 0.02). Sensory analysis showed that among fortified porridges, blanched sample was rated high for colour and texture, cooked sample was higher in taste and uncooked sample was higher for aroma. Control sample had higher acceptance than fortified porridges for taste. The results of this study showed that the addition of MO leaves and termite powder to instant maize porridge has led to a substantial increase in the nutritional value of FMP.

This study was carried out to develop instant maize porridge fortified with MO leaves and termite powder suitable for infants, pregnant mothers and other maize consumers. The author aimed at improving the nutritional content of instant maize porridge by combining it with MO leaves and termite powders. The results showed that the addition of MO leaves and termite powders to instant maize porridge has led to a substantial increase in the nutritional value of FMP. Therefore, powder from MO leaves and termites could be used in complementary foods to increase protein and mineral contents.

Demand for dietary fibre-enriched and low sugar bakery products is increasing rapidly due to current high incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Overripe banana has been discarded due to its low quality and appearance. However, overripe banana exhibits rich sources of natural sweetener and dietary fibre which could potentially be used as a novel food ingredient in bakery product. Thus, the study aims to determine the nutritional properties, sensory acceptability and glycaemic index (GI) value of chocolate cookies formulated with overripe banana sweetener (OBS) as partial replacement (10, 15 and 20%) for table sugar and utilization of overripe banana residue (OBR) as partial replacement (8%) for wheat flour.

Nutritional composition was analysed using AOAC methods and sensory acceptability using 7-point hedonic scaling method. In Vivo GI determination was continued according to FAO/WHO method.

Incorporation of OBR and OBS significantly (p < 0.05) increased nutritional values of chocolate cookies. Chocolate cookies formulated with 8% OBR +20% OBS recorded the highest TDF (7.80%) and ash (1.47%) content. Sucrose content of chocolate cookies was reduced significantly with increasing level of OBS. Sensory scores for control and 8% OBR-incorporated cookie were not significant difference for all the sensory attributes. Moreover, incorporation of OBS up to 15% produced higher scores in term of aroma, flavour and overall acceptance. Three formulations of chocolate cookies (control, 8% OBR and 8% OBR +15% OBS) were selected for GI testing and recorded GI values of 63, 56 and 50, respectively.

Overripe banana can be used as a food ingredient in developing high fibre and low-GI cookie.

Background/Objectives: Protein-based meal replacements (MR) with viscous soluble fibre are known aids for weight loss. This study aims to compare the effects of new whey and vegan MR containing different amounts of PGX (PolyGlycopleX) on weight loss over 12 weeks, along with a calorie-restricted diet.

Subjects/Methods: Sixty-eight healthy adults of both sexes (53 women; 15 men; average age 47.1 years; BMI 31 ± 7.1 kg/m² and weight 85.05 ± 23.3 kg) were recruited. Participants consumed a whey or vegan MR twice/d (5–10 g/day PGX) with a low-energy diet (1,200 kcal/day), over 12 weeks. Weight, height, waist and hip circumference were recorded (four time periods).

Results: Forty-four participants completed the study. Results showed significant reductions in average body weight and at week 12, whey group was [−7.7 kg ± 0.9 (8.3%), p < 0.001] and vegan group was [−4.5 kg ± 0.8 (6.2%), p < 0.001)]. All participants (n = 44; BMI 27 to 33 kg/m²) achieved significant reductions in body measurements from baseline to week 12; p < 0.001. Conclusions: Supplementation of protein-based MR with PGX and a balanced, low-energy diet, appears to be an effective approach for short-term weight loss.

As the authors were evaluating if the MR as a whole (i.e. with PGX) caused weight loss from baseline over the 12 weeks, no comparators, i.e. just the MR without PGX, were used. Formulation of these new MRs resulted in a whey product with 5 g PGX and a vegan product with 2.5 g PGX. Only 2.5 g PGX could be formulated with the vegan protein due to taste and viscosity limitations. Study participants were not randomized and no control groups (e.g. no MR or MR without PGX but with energy restricted diet) were used. Furthermore, it is not clear whether the sort of protein alone or the combination with a higher amount of PGX (whey with 5 g PGX/serving vs vegan with 2.5 g PGX/serving) has contributed to these significant greater weight-loss effects. This was something the authors were testing, i.e. could only 2.5 g PGX/serving have an effect on weight loss for a vegan MR. These limitations would be somethings to evaluate in a subsequent randomized controlled study. Hence, the results of this study may serve as a good starting point for further sophisticated randomized controlled trials that can demonstrate causality – which the authors acknowledge as one of the fundamental limitations of an observational study design. Participants tracked their calories but adherence and compliance were self-assessed and they were encouraged to keep their exercise routine consistent throughout the study. Hence, these are further limitations. No control group was used in this study to observe the effect of the dietary intervention and/or physical activity on weight loss alone. However, a goal of the authors was to keep this study as close to a real-life situation as possible, where people would not be doing any of these measurements, to see if with minimal supervision or intervention, people can still lose weight and alter their body composition. Furthermore, differences in gender and the corresponding weight loss effects in response to MR-protein-based treatments could be evaluated in follow-up studies.

This study indicates that the consumption of protein-based (animal, whey or plant, pea protein) MR incorporating the highly soluble viscous PGX is beneficial for weight loss when combined with a healthy-balanced, calorie-restricted diet. MRs at either 2.5 g or 5 g per serving (RealEasy^TM with PGX) proved to be a highly effective as a short-term solution for weight loss. The observed results are encouraging, however, further long-term studies (i.e. randomized clinical trials RCT) are needed to confirm the clinical relevance. RCTs should focus on the individual effects of PGX and/or the different protein sources used in MRs, on weight loss and the maintenance of the reduced body weight, and should measure detailed blood parameters (lipid profiles, glucose etc.) as well as collect detailed exercise and food consumption diaries.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study comparing a whey versus vegan, (as pea) protein-based MR that is supplemented with fibre PGX; thus, this work adds information to the already existing literature on fibre (such as PGX) and MRs regarding their combined weight loss effects. The purpose of this study was to observe if the novel protein-based (either whey or vegan versions) MR RealEasy^TM with PGX at 2.5 or 5 g in addition to a calorie-restricted diet (total of 1,200 kcal/day) would aid in weight loss in individuals over a 12-weeks period. Adding increasing amounts of whey protein and soluble fibre can help reduce subsequent ad libitum energy intake which could help adherence to energy restricted diets, but whether similar effects are seen with vegan protein is unclear – this study does aim to address this.

In this paper, we examine the comparative advantage of Korea and China while focusing on their technology level. The three digit SITC (Standard International Trade Classification) data is classified by technology level and the revealed comparative advantage (RCA) is derived from 1992-2009 by using UN COMTRADE data. For careful interpretation of the comparative advantage and technology levels, we also examined intra-industry trade and unit values of bilateral Korea-China trade, and semi-conductor industry technology. We found that the revealed comparative advantage has moved from low technology products to high technology products in Korea. China still maintains a comparative advantage in low technology products such as textiles and clothing, but at the same time, China’s high and medium-high technology products have recently gained a comparative advantage. The perception that China only has a comparative advantage for labor intensive products with low technology should be changed based on our analysis. However, China’s advancement in technology should not be overestimated. When comparing the unit value of basic materials of Korea’s and China’s exports, we found that Korea’s export product prices are on average higher than that of China’s, although the gap is reducing. A wider technology gap between Korea and China still exists in the semi-conductor industry, which is one of the most advanced high technology industries throughout the world.