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Here the authors investigate the effects of a visual color cue (brown color) on saltiness expectations, emotional responses and purchase intention of commercial soy sauce products.

The study enrolled 100 participates, and three sauce colors (light brown, medium brown and dark brown) were used as treatments in this experimental design research. The data analysis was done by a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach with repeated measures.

The findings indicated that, for the medium and dark brown sauces, the final model revealed a positive effect of sauce color intensity on saltiness expectation, a positive impact of saltiness expectation on emotion and a positive impact of emotion on purchase intention with statistically indifferent factor loadings. Hence, both the medium and dark brown colors soy sauces were the preferred choices for consumers. However, for the light brown color, the test result was unsatisfactory.

Several empirical studies have identified visual cues as useful for sodium reduction. However, from a marketing perspective, a causal relationship between the color intensity and a customer's purchase intention has not been explored in soy sauce products using an experimental design concept and SEM.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the changes in sensory qualities of jaew sauce as heat is applied and to determine its acceptance level among Thai and foreign consumers.

Jaew sauce was heated for six hours and samples were collected at 1.5 hours interval. The color of jaew sauce was measured using color spectrophotometer and consumers examined the underlying sensory qualities of jaew sauce using sorting technique. A total of 40 Thai and foreign consumers were asked to sort the commercial and the heated jaew sauce samples according to the similarities and dissimilarities in sensory characteristics and provide descriptions for explanation of each group. A consumer test with 100 Thai and foreign consumers was also conducted to determine the acceptance of jaew sauce.

Alterations in the sensory qualities, mainly color, were observed. Prolong heating resulted in darker color. The sorting results showed that Thai and foreign consumers have similar perception of jaew sauce. Similar groupings of jaew sauce was observed, which could be divided into four groups, commercial, 0 hour heating, 1.5 and 3 hours heating, and 4.5 and 6 hours heating. Agreeing results of both Thai and foreign consumers showed that commercial and 0 hour heating samples were most preferred and the acceptance of jaew sauce decreased as it was heated.

Despite the extensive usage of jaew, very few are available commercially in the market. The fact that Thai and foreign consumers have similar preference infer that jaew sauce has a high potential to be adopted and accepted among foreigners to a large extent if available commercially. This study also provides a basis into further research on an appropriate packaging and shelf-life study of jaew sauce for commercial purposes.

The purpose of this study was to accelerate the fermentation process of minced mackerel fish (Scomber scombrus L.) mixed thoroughly with 20 per cent salt (w/w) and hydrolyzed by 0.2 and 0.4 per cent bromelain at 37°C.

S. scombrus L. was mixed thoroughly with 20 per cent salt (w/w) and hydrolyzed by the bromelain at levels of 0.2 and 0.4 per cent at 37°C. The physicochemical and sensory properties were evaluated after 60 and 90 days.

In a comparison of all of the aforementioned treatments, the results showed that the samples with higher bromelain levels (0.4 per cent) had higher concentrations of formal nitrogen (622 mg/100 mL) and total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N, 0.3 g/dL) after 90 days of fermentation (p < 0.01) . The sample with 0.4 per cent bromelain showed total free amino acids content of 13.3 g/100 g after 90 days of fermentation (p < 0.01). High levels of total fatty acids (15.6 mg/100 g) were found in samples treated with 0.4 per cent bromelain and allowed to ferment for 90 days (p < 0.01). The sauce colour became significantly highly saturated (p < 0.01) with the increase in fermentation time. Chroma was significantly increased by 44 and 66 per cent in fermented sauce samples with 0.2 and 0.4 per cent bromelain during fermentation for as long as 90 days (p < 0.01). Moreover, the addition of bromelain (0.4 per cent) resulted in mackerel fish sauce that was organoleptically preferred at the end of fermentation.

The results showed that an acceptable fish sauce could be produced from mackerel fish with supplementation with 0.4 per cent of bromelain, which reduced the fermentation time to 90 days and resulted in the most satisfactory results without compromising the product quality.

The purpose of this paper is to examine Kikkoman’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication with public schools associated with a new food education law in Japan. It describes how an internationally recognized soy sauce maker, Kikkoman, effectively entered a previously untapped market, public schools in Japan, and improved its corporate image using the vehicle of CSR activity.

Three traditional qualitative data sources were utilized: documents, interviews, and observations.

Social, political, economic, and environmental factors pushed Kikkoman to create a soy sauce lesson as a new CSR activity, which created challenges in corporate communication. The company, with the help of government, overcame the difficulties and was able to effectively communicate its CSR and improve its corporate image while promoting its signature product to children. This case presents a successful public relations strategy using a stakeholder approach as a framework.

It is difficult to generalize the findings to CSR communication in Japan because this is a single case study with interviews with one company representative and observations at two schools.

First, collaboration between business people and public schools teachers is on the rise. This may open new opportunities for socially responsible corporations to engage in effective public relations activity through CSR in Japan. Second, human resource development in CSR activities is strategic and employees can play a pivotal role in Japanese CSR.

This paper examines the unique activities of a Japanese food industry leader from multiple data sources including observations of actual corporate behaviors in schools.

In today’s Taiwan, sha-cha sauce is an indispensable ingredient for beef hot pot and stir-fried dishes. The purpose of this paper contextualizes the history of sha-cha sauce in Tainan, the oldest city in Taiwan, and argues that sha-cha sauce, introduced by Chaoshan immigrants, has contributed to new styles and habits of beef consumption tastes and habits in the post-1949 Tainan and beyond.

This paper uses documentary materials, oral interviews and diaries to explore the relationship between beef consumption and sha-cha sauce. It begins with an historical overview of Taiwan’s beef consumption during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945). Then, it focuses on two Chaoshan business enterprises: the Bull-Head, which makes the world’s largest “canned sha-cha sauce,” and the Xiao Haozhou, a Tainan restaurant specializing in sha-cha beef hot pot. Finally, this study analyzes Xinrong Wu, a Tainan gentry whose diary entries from 1933 to 1967 documented the changing dietary habits of beef consumption among Taiwanese.

The Chaoshan migrants played an important role in introducing the sha-cha sauce to postcolonial Tainan, and this input bolstered the beef consumption among Taiwanese. The production of sha-cha provided a reliable source of income for these migrants in Tainan, and major businesses like the Bull-Head became the international brands of Taiwanese food products.

The study, though limited to Tainan, reveals the symbiosis between popularization of sha-cha sauce and widespread beef consumption in Taiwan.

This study helps researchers examine the connection between Chinese migrations and food culture.

This paper is an original scholarly investigation of the relationship between food diet and Chaoshan migration in postcolonial Tainan.

This paper introduces the development of a new type of sales promotion strategy to create more value for goods and to avoid price discounting. I use a psychological approach designed by creating consumer insight hypotheses based on in-depth interviews, which are then verified by web-motivation research and text-mining. This innovative sales promotion approach is a very hot topic as a new type of promotion development among large companies in Japan and is useful in avoiding price-discounting sales. This paper explains the concrete process used in this type of promotion and reveals the successful case of a large spice company in Japan. The process uses price sensitivity measurement (PSM) as a pricing technique. In the experiment, conducted in nine retail stores, the most successful sales promotion condition saw an increase of 900% in monetary sales without price discounting during the two weeks of the experiment, and 500% in the two weeks after that.

Chuck Smith, senior brand manager of A.1. Steak Sauce, learns that Lawry's will soon be launching a steak sauce product. He has to determine whether A.1. should defend its business and, if so, what A.1. should do. In formulating the recommendation, he has to consider competitive dynamics and work through the financial implications.

This case is about Korean Air Lines’ innovative idea to adopt a policy of vertical integration in catering. Rather than out‐source its in‐flight catering, this airline has moved away from industry norms, and is doing its own thing – literally.

The third age can be a period of major food consumption changes. Either voluntary or imposed by health issues, they may be accompanied by alterations in sensory acuity. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how lifelong food habits and health-age issues affect food choice at a later age, with the aim of developing strategies to direct aged people toward healthier food habits.

A survey, aimed to investigate differences between current and past food habits, was carried out in a group of 170 Italian older adults. Questions focused on the composition of the main meal, asking participants to describe its actual structure and to highlight differences in previous years’ food habits. A discrete choice experiment (DCE) was planned, during which participants were asked to help formulating innovative pasta sauces with healthy ingredients.

This survey clearly illustrated gender-related differences: women were characterized by a higher consumption of vegetables, while men revealed a more frequent use of wine, pasta and meat. The DCE technique suited older adults’ abilities and enabled the development of innovative sauces, indicating a clear preference for extra virgin olive oil, as compared to cream or butter. Gender-related differences were confirmed: women mainly chose a vegetarian sauce, while men expressed an inclination for red meat.

This is the first report of a successful application of the DCE technique to investigate older adults’ dietary choices. The outspoken preference for olive oil as fat in sauce composition is a positive finding for future actions aimed at directing older adults toward healthier food habits.

The purpose of this paper is to apply okara flour in the elaboration of a product, verifying the effect of the fermentation by Lactobacillus plantarum BG 112 on the antihypertensive activity and to develop probiotic sauce with gums and low lipid content.

During the fermentation process, the inhibitory activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and production of organic acids were determined. The simplex-centroid mixture of guar gum, xanthan gum and pregelatinized cassava starch was used for studying the variables water holding capacity, viscosity and firmness. Counts of probiotics and in vitro survival of probiotics in simulated gastrointestinal conditions were made.

The fermented soymilk showed ACE inhibition capacity above 50 percent with 32 h of fermentation, increasing the levels of lactic acid and acetic acid progressively. Based on the regression analysis and response surfaces, the binary mixture with guar gum and xanthan was chosen as the most suitable for the formulation of the sauce, having over 30 days of storage counts above 8.5 log CFU.g⁻¹ and above 6 log CFU.g⁻¹ after simulation of gastrointestinal conditions. The global acceptance was 7.0 corresponding to the moderately liked.

The findings suggest that the sauce developed has been well accepted by potential consumers and can be incorporated into the diet and can result in health benefits for the consumer when regularly ingested. The fermentation process of soymilk promoted an increase in antihypertensive capacity. Despite the reduction in viable cell counts throughout storage, counts remained high in the product, having a high survival rate after exposure under simulated gastrointestinal conditions.

The use of okara flour in the diet is viable and helps to improve the nutritional composition of foods. The use of okara flour in sauce showed potential applicability and could be incorporated into different products. The fermentation process of soymilk with okara flour produces benefits beyond the sensorial characteristics. The elaborated probiotic sauce presented physical–chemical and microbiological stability throughout the storage, being an alternative for people with food restrictions.