Sensory quality

In general, nonconventional protein foods must be competitive with conventional plant and animal protein sources on the bases of cost delivered to the consumer, nutritional value to humans or animals, functional value in foods, sensory quality, and social and cultural acceptability. Also, requirements of regulatory agencies in different countries for freedom from toxins or toxic residues in single-cell protein products, toxic glycosides in leaf protein products, pathogenic microorganisms, heavy metals and toxins in fish protein concentrates, or inhibitory or toxic peptide components in synthetic peptides must be met before new nonconventional food or feed protein products can be marketed. 

Nociceptors are a specific subset of peripheral sensory organs, which respond to noxious stimuli. A8 mechan-oreceptors and C-polymodal nociceptors are the two main classes of cutaneous nociceptors. The sensory quality of pain evoked by activation of A8-fibres is... 

For example, the preservation of green color and the nutritional and sensory quality of unwrapped fresh-cut broccoli heads (Brassica oleracea L.) were prolonged from 5 to 28 days at 1°C under a modified atmosphere created by micro-... 

Rembialkowska, E. (2000) The nutritive and sensory quality of carrots and white cabbage from organic and conventional farms. Proceedings of the 13th International IFOAM Scientific Conference, Basel, Switzerland, pp 297. 

Identify strategies to improve nutritional, processing and sensory quality and safety characteristics in organic farming systems ... 

Part II provides detailed information on the main quality and safety issues related to the production of organic livestock foods. This includes three chapters (Chapters 7 to 9) which review the effect of livestock husbandry on nutritional and sensory quality of livestock foods including milk and dairy products (Chapter 7), poultry (Chapter 8) and pork (Chapter 9). It also includes four chapters (Chapters 10 to 13) which review the strategies used to minimise microbiological risks and antibiotic and veterinary medicine use in livestock production systems including safety of ruminants (Chapter 10), mastitis treatment in organic dairy production systems (Chapter 11), internal parasites (Chapter 12) and pigs and poultry (Chapter 13). 

Part III provides detailed information on the main quality and safety issues relating to the production of organic crop foods. This includes two chapters (Chapters 15 and 16) which focus on the effects of agronomic methods used in crop production on the nutritional and sensory quality of... 

Bourn D and Prescott J (2002) A comparison of the nutritional value, sensory qualities, and food safety of organically and conventionally produced foods . Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 42, 1-34. 

Haglund A, Johansson L, Garedal L and Dlouhy J (1997) Sensory quality of tomatoes cultivated with ecological fertilizing systems . Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research, 27, 135-145. 

Wszelaki AL, Delwiche JF, Walker SD, Liggett RE, Scheerens JC and Kleinhenz MD (2005) Sensory quality and mineral and glycoalkaloid concentrations in organically and conventionally grown redskin potatoes (Solanum tuberosum). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 85, 720-726. 

Sensory quality can be defined as texture, flavour (taste), aroma and visual aspect. The sensory properties of milk are highly influenced by its fat content (Phillips et al., 1995a). As a result, research has examined the effects of various food additives on sensory quality when used as a substitute for fat in milk (Philips et al., 1995b). Frpst et al. (2001) showed that a combination of thickener, whitener and cream aroma in 0.1% fat milk was successful in mimicking the sensory quality of 1.3% fat milk. With the interest in the production of milk enriched with cis-9, trans-l 1 CLAs, owing to their relevance to human health (Tricon et al., 2004), recent research has examined the effects of CLA on the sensory quality of dairy products and found that it is possible to produce CLA-enriched dairy products with acceptable sensory characteristics (Jones et al., 2005). 

Milk from cows affected with mastitis alters the sensory quality of raw milk and cheese (Munro el al., 1984). Sensory defects are reported as increased rancidity and bitterness, factors which are consistent with higher levels of lipolysis and proteolysis (Ma et al., 2000). 

The image of fresh pork is to a high degree determined by its sensory quality (palatability, tenderness, juiciness) and its appearance (especially colour, visible fat content and WHC) at purchase in the shop (Schifferstein and Ophius, 1988 Becker et al., 2000). 

The difference in sensory quality between females and castrated males is not consistent over several studies. Enfalt et al. (1997) and Jonsall et al. (2001) found that loins from castrated males scored higher for tenderness and juiciness than loins from females. In contrast, Jonsall et al. (2000) found no sensory effect of sex on loins and the same working group detected in a further investigation that loin from gilts scored higher for juiciness and lower for off-flavour than loin from castrated males. Obviously, the effect of sex on sensorial quality is of minor relevance and can be overruled by other effects. 

Pig production today faces the difficult task of effectively meeting emerging consumer concerns while remaining competitive in its major target markets. Providing a high sensorial quality of pork and meeting consumer concerns about product safety and animal welfare are identified as key attention points for future livestock production. The relevance of these issues pertains to... 

Jonsall A, Johansson L and Lundstrom K (2000) Effects of red clover silage and RN genotype on sensory quality of prolonged frozen stored pork , Food Qual and Pref, 11, 371-376. 

Jonsall A, Johansson L and Lundstrom K (2001), Sensory quality and cooking loss of ham muscle (M. biceps femoris) from pigs reared indoors and outdoors , Meat Sci, 57, 245-250. 

Lebret B, Juin H, Noblet J and Bonneau M (2001), The effects of two methods of increasing age at slaughter on carcass and muscle traits and meat sensory quality in... 

Sundrum A and Acosta Aragon Y (2005), Nutritional strategies to improve the sensory quality and food safety of pork while improving production efficiency within organic framework conditions , Report of the EU-project, Improving Quality and Safety and Reduction of Costs in the European Organic and Low Input Supply Chains, no. CT-2003 506358. 

Important intrinsic quality criteria currently determining the market potential of new apple cultivars are related to the sensory quality such as fruit firmness (crispness) and the sugar and acidity contents. On the other hand, the nutritional composition (e.g. the vitamin or antioxidant contents) is currently not used as a criterion in the choice of cultivars, neither in conventional nor in organic fruit production. The difference in the content of such components between fruit species is in most cases more relevant than between cultivars of the same species (e.g. vitamin C content of oranges versus apples). 

Weed competition for water and nutrients can have similar effects on fruit quality as described above for fertilisation. For example, if weed competition is completely prevented by chemosynthetic herbicides in conventional production, this can lead to excess supply of certain mineral nutrients, in particular nitrogen and potassium, which in turn results in reduced sensory quality and shelf-life (Section 16.2.2). On the other hand, excessive weed competition, in particular, during the pre-bloom phase and the end of the first shoot growth period (Gut and Weibel, 2005), can induce nutrient and/or water deficiency and a risk of quality loss. 

Picking fruit at an optimal harvest date is also an important factor affecting the nutritional and sensory quality and storability of fruit. Regardless of the production method, a fruit grower needs precise information on the seasonal (e.g. climate) and site-specific parameters that determine the optimal harvest... 

Hydrogen peroxide (H202) Potential as disinfectant Affect sensory qualities of some products, harmful to humans, not applicable to all products... 

Irradiation Very effective disinfectant May affect sensory qualities, harmful to humans, not permitted in organic food production... 

Organic acids Effective alone or on combination with other sanitizers, simple products such as lemon juice or vinegar may be used Not useful for all products, may have adverse effects on sensory qualities, may lead to loss of germination percentage when used on seeds... 

Experiments with gaseous acetic acid have been performed for disinfection of seeds intended for the production of bean sprouts (Delaquis et al., 1999). Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli 0157 H7 were eradicated from the surface of mung bean seeds and it was reported that the seed germination loss was not too large. The seeds have often been the suspected source of contamination in sprout-associated outbreaks and sanitation methods that do not interfere with the germination of the seeds are appreciated. Other volatile chemical treatments have been tested for lethality to Salmonella spp. on alfalfa seeds and sprouts with varying results both on the efficacy of the disinfectant and its effect on sensory qualities (Weissinger et al., 2001). 

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