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The purpose of this paper is to examine descriptive sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of eight commercial ready-to-eat cooked rice samples by 8 trained panelists and 50 consumers.

A total of 24 descriptive attributes for appearance, odor/aroma, taste/flavor, and texture were developed. Also Consumer Acceptability (CA) was performed for overall liking, appearance, flavor, and texture liking. All statistical analyses were using analysis of variance, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and partial least square regression (PLSR).

The overall liking score for the cooked white rice from C brand was the highest (6.43) among the eight samples. Three groups of eight commercial ready-to-eat cooked rice samples were obtained from PCA and HCA. The samples of cooked white rice from C, N, and O brand characterized by intactness, starch odor, translucency, whiteness, and glossiness were located on to the positive PLS 1, whereas the samples of cooked white rice from D and E brand characterized by scorched odor, cohesiveness, stickiness, and moistness were located on the negative side of PLS 2 in the PLSR analysis.

Further studies on the improvement of sensory quality for brown rice are necessary to increase CA in terms of health functionality of brown rice.

This study was performed to determine the microbial quality of stuffed mussels and to discuss the microbiological quality criteria of ready‐to‐eat (RTE) foods defined in the Turkish Food Codex (TFC).

Stuffed mussel (Midye Dolma), which can be classified as RTE foods, made from mussel and rice, cooked separately then put together in the shell, is commonly consumed in Turkey. This special food might be an important source of microorganisms especially pathogen bacteria because of preparation and serving process. During the period of March‐October 2006, a total of 168 stuffed mussel samples were collected randomly from restaurants, buffets and street sellers located in Istanbul and analysed some microbiological parameters.

Coliforms were detected in 130 (77.38 per cent), Escherichia coli in 37 (22.02 per cent), Staphylococcus aureus in 40 (23.80 per cent), Bacillus cereus in 65 (38.69 per cent), yeast and moulds in 147 (87.50 per cent) and sulphite‐reducing anaerob bacteria in 61 (36.30 per cent) stuffed mussel samples, respectively. Total aerobic bacteria count (TAB) was between 1.0 × 10² and 3.2 × 10⁷ CFU/g. No Salmonella spp. was detected in analysed samples.

This is the first comprehensive study to provide information on the microbiological quality of stuffed mussels sold in Istanbul, Turkey. This information is important in the determination of measures that can be taken to control the safety of these cooked or prepared foods.

The current pilot study explored food insecurity, food waste, food related behaviours and cooking confidence of UK consumers following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Data were collected from 473 UK-based consumers (63% female) in March 2020. A cross-sectional online survey measured variables including food insecurity prevalence, self-reported food waste, food management behaviours, confidence and frequency of use of a range of cooking methods, type of food eaten (ultra-processed, semi-finished, unprocessed) and packaging type foods are purchased in.

39% of participants have experienced some food insecurity in the last 12 months. Being younger, having a greater BMI and living in a smaller household were associated with food insecurity. Green leaves, carrots, potatoes and sliced bread are the most wasted of purchased foods. Polenta, green leaves and white rice are the most wasted cooked foods. Food secure participants reported wasting a smaller percentage of purchased and cooked foods compared to food insecure participants. Overall, participants were most confident about boiling, microwaving and stir-frying and least confident with using a pressure cooker or sous vide. Food secure participants were more confident with boiling, stir-frying, grilling and roasting than insecure food participants.

This has implications for post lockdown policy, including food policies and guidance for public-facing communications.

We identified novel differences in self-report food waste behaviours and cooking confidence between the food secure and insecure consumers and observed demographics associated with food insecurity.

The goal of the present study is to examine the degree of knowledge amongst Indian women about millet grain and its nutritional advantages. Millet is regarded to be five times more nutritious than rice and wheat. Despite the fact that millet contributes to 10% of India's food grain basket and has an annual production of 18 million tonnes, it is not consumed in the same proportion as mainstream cereals (that is rice and wheat). As a result, the study's primary objective is to determine the level of awareness and consumption pattern of millet amongst Indian women regarding millet grains.

The research was carried out in the city of Bengaluru in the state of Karnataka, India. For the purpose of study, a sample of 855 female respondents was approached using a non-probability sampling technique known as convenience sampling. The data were gathered through the use of a self-administered structured questionnaire.

According to the findings of the study, the vast majority of respondents consume millet for preserving overall health. Building self and family immunity is the most important factor with 4.11 mean scores and low standard deviation of 0.985. The results reveal that 80.6% of women in the study are aware of millet but only 62.7% of women are consuming millet. The motivating factors and demotivating factors leading to consumption and non-consumption behaviour, respectively have also been identified. The study also reveals that demographic factors such as age, qualification and income have a direct influence on millet consumption.

The scope of research can be extended to explore the impact of millet consumption on long term health benefits of millet amongst the target respondents. Further, the study can be extended to explore the consumption pattern of millet among different target audience in various parts of India. The media interventions in creating awareness of millet consumption benefits need to be studied for increasing the consumption of millet.

Companies involved in producing Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products can be encouraged to produce millet based foods like cereals, biscuits, ready to eat foods etc. Workshops can be organized to raise awareness on how the millet can replace traditional grains in the cooking process.

Policy measures may include millet being promoted through technology dissemination, creating awareness about advantages of millet and including millet in the Public Distribution System (PDS). It is also important to promote the cultivation, maintenance and processing of the local variety of millet with competent marketing strategies so as to increase their cultivation comparable to the cash crops. Farmers should be educated on the importance of cultivation of minor millet.

The fast-paced lifestyle of urban Indians has a direct impact on their dietary preferences. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that people have a nutritionally balanced diet and engage in regular physical activity to reduce health risks. In India, as a result of women's increased participation in the workforce, women are forced to manage many tasks and obligations, which has detrimental effects on their health. The poor nutritional status of modern-day workers is attributed to a lack of education, lack of awareness and a general disregard for health-related concerns. There is a need to investigate if Indian women are aware of the nutritional benefits of millet grains that are higher in protein.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare consumer perceptions of unpolished pigmented rice and milled white rice between unfamiliar and typical consumers.

This study first employed focus groups to explore attitudes and habits relating to rice consumption among British subjects. A sensory descriptive analysis method, flash profiling (FP), was then applied on consumer panels in the UK and Thailand to gain perceived sensory quality of unfamiliar and typical rice samples. The sensory profiles generated by British and Thai panellists were analysed by generalised procrustean analysis (GPA) and compared based on perceived attributes, dominant characteristics and repeatability.

Focus group results suggested that consumer familiarity with rice might influence preferred rice textural quality. The prominent textures of stickiness and bittiness of unpolished pigmented rice were negatively associated with perceived quality in the UK participants. The sensory profiles generated by GPA consisted of similarity with darkness of colour and sweet/earthy type odours that are key dominant characteristics of the Thai pigmented rice.

The research has provided sensory information of the unpolished pigmented rice as compared with milled white rice. The information gives insights on product development directions for export and further research on rice processing and cooking instructions.

This study is the first to apply sensory evaluation in a cross-cultural comparison of pigmented rice.

The purpose of this paper is to develop and standardize nutrient dense, easily digestible and affordable ready-to-eat supplementary foods from locally available ingredients for malnourished children and to assess their nutritional composition.

To develop supplementary foods, wheat and green gram were germinated, dried and made into flour. Potatoes of “Kufri Pukhraj” variety procured from university were washed, peeled, sliced, boiled, dipped in potassium metabisulphite solution, dried and grounded into flour. Spinach leaves were washed, dried and made into powder. Five wholesome ready-to-eat supplementary foods, namely, panjiri, mathi, seviyan, biscuits and pinni, were developed from germinated cereal, pulse and potato flour and spinach leaves powder. The products were standardized with potato flour and spinach leaves powder. The developed products were analyzed for proximate composition by standardized methods.

One-way analysis of variance and Tukey’s test was used to obtain differences in organoleptic scores within different levels of treatments. All five supplementary foods were acceptable at 30 per cent level of potato flour and 2.5 per cent level of spinach leaves powder. Mean scores of panjiri, mathi, seviyan, biscuits and pinni were significantly different (p < 0.05). Significant (p < 0.05) difference was observed in terms of moisture, crude protein, crude fat, crude fibre and ash content among the developed products.

The developed ready-to-eat supplementary foods can be recommended for supplementary feeding programmes running in the country.

The paper aims at the development of high energy protein supplementary foods for malnourished children. The developed complementary food blend is made up of variety of food groups like cereal, pulse, root and tuber and green leafy vegetables to provide wholesome nutrition to children. This is different to originally provided supplementary foods to children made up of only cereal. The developed products also add a variety to supplementary foods given to malnourished children in supplementary feeding programmes.

Rice consumption per capita in many Asian countries is decreasing constantly, but American and European citizens are eating more rice nowadays. A preference study among consumers was carried out with the aim of determining new rice product characteristics in order to support export of Thai rice. This paper aims to report the results

The research was based on both secondary and primary data collection. The secondary data included exploratory surveys of rice and its products which were conducted in some of Thailand's potential rice export markets. Exploratory primary data were collected through qualitative focus group research. A quantitative questionnaire with 1,128 consumers of target nationalities was conducted to access consumer attitudes and preferences with respect to rice and rice products.

Rice products were grouped with factor analysis and could be characterized by convenience (explained variance 33.9 per cent), grain variety (21.2 per cent), and tradition/naturalness (12.8 per cent). Rotated factor score plot of the preference for rice products among different nationalities showed a similarity in the preference for the tradition/natural products. Convenient products were preferred in higher income Asian countries and the non‐rice eating countries. These three product categories were correlated with consumers' ideas concerning the health‐supporting character of processed food.

Consumers' rice preferences differed greatly among nationalities. Rice exporters have to understand these different preferences in order to offer the right products to their customers. Assuming consumer preferences to be comparable to one's own country's preference can cause new product failure. This paper confirms existing differences and presents details and backgrounds of these differences.

Snack industry is one of the fastest growing food sectors globally, and people are nowadays conscious about intake of healthy snacks on regular basis. There is enormous variety of ready-to-snacks available in the market. Brown rice though highly nutritious in comparison to polished rice is consumed meagerly by masses. Each raw material/ingredient used in extrusion cooking requires specific control of processing variables to meet acceptable product characteristics and consumer demands, which in turn necessitates the need to optimize the conditions for development of brown-rice-based snacks. The aim of this study was to optimize the extrusion cooking conditions for development of brown-rice-based extrudates.

Extrusion conditions were optimized through design expert using central composite rotatable design (CCRD) experimental design. The effect of feed moisture (10–22%), screw speed (215–385 rpm) and barrel temperature (95–160 °C) on specific mechanical energy (SME), bulk density (BD), water absorption index (WAI), water solubility index (WSI), expansion ratio (ER), breaking strength (BS) and instrumental color (L*, a*, b*) was evaluated.

All the system and product responses were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by independent variables. Regression models obtained were highly significant with high coefficient of determination (R² = 0.992). The optimum extrusion conditions obtained by numerical optimization for development of snacks were moisture content of 12%, screw speed of 350 rpm and temperature of 133 °C. The vitamin B₁ content of brown-rice-based snacks was 0.45 mg/100 (50% of RDA) whereas no vitamin B₁ was detected in white-rice-based snacks used as control.

The developed snacks contain 0.45 mg/100 g of vitamin B₁. If a person on an average consumes 150 g of snacks in a day, 50% of RDA (1.2 mg/day) for vitamin B₁ can be sufficed. Therefore, developed snacks can prove to be a viable vehicle to reduce the vitamin B₁ deficiency burden among the target population. Large-scale production and consumption of such type of snacks could improve the nutritional status of vitamin B1 deficient people. Furthermore, it can also provide a good opportunity for snack industry to develop nutritious snacks through utilization of brown rice.

Brown rice flour contains nutrients such as iron, calcium, zinc, sodium and vitamin B₁ in appreciable portions and was thus explored for development of nutritious snacks. Moreover, developed snacks recorded an overall acceptability of 4.70 out of 5, which depicts it is acceptable for mass production and consumption.

Presents a first attempt to investigate eating patterns in children in Singapore in terms of frequency, sources and types of food, with specific emphasis on eating outside the home. Two sets of data were collected. A guided questionnaire was administered to adults accompanying the pre‐school age children and young people at various eating outlets, hawker centres, food courts and fast food outlets. All 198 transcripts were usable. Overall, 19 per cent of those interviewed ate out five to seven times a week. The two most common reasons given for this were “convenience” (65, 33 per cent), and “nobody prepares home‐cooked meals” (62, 31 per cent). “Convenience” was most common among pre‐school (29, 48 per cent) and teenaged (27, 42 per cent) children, whereas “nobody cooks at home” (31, 43 per cent) was most common in school‐age children. Few boys said that they ate fruit or vegetables. This picture is in keeping with the pattern among Singaporean adults and may contribute to the high rate of obesity that increases risk of adult diseases. Research is needed to confirm these findings and to investigate the social influences on eating patterns with a view to designing effective nutrition/health education that can effect behavioural change.

Breakfast is often considered the most important meal of the day and its consumption has been linked with aspects of health, such as nutrient intake and cognitive powers. Aims to review some of the literature on the subject and present new data on breakfast consumption patterns from the authors′ dietary survey of Scottish schoolchildren. Frequency of breakfast consumption and type of breakfast chosen was investigated in boys and girls in low and high socio‐economic groups. Few children missed breakfast and the most popular choice was ready‐to‐eat (RTE) breakfast cereal. Children from the low socio‐economic group tended to favour bread or toast. Differences in nutrient intake between RTE cereal eaters and the rest of the group were found and it was concluded that, although the dietary intake of this former group appeared more favourable, further research was required to establish a more definite causative effect.