Articles publicats (Tecnologia, Enginyeria i Ciència dels Aliments)

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Browsing Articles publicats (Tecnologia, Enginyeria i Ciència dels Aliments) by Author "Acién Fernández, Francisco Gabriel"

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    Consumer knowledge and attitudes towards microalgae as food: The case of Spain
    (Elsevier, 2021) Lafarga, Tomás; Rodríguez Bermúdez, Ruth; Morillas-España, Ainoa; Villaró, Silvia; García-Vaquero, Marco; Morán, Lara; Sánchez-Zurano, Ana; González López, Cynthia Victoria; Acién Fernández, Francisco Gabriel
    Spanish consumers’ knowledge and attitudes towards microalgae as food were assessed using a specific questionnaire - a total of 3084 Spanish consumers over 18 years old were considered in the current study. Overall, the questionnaire revealed that there is a huge lack of knowledge on basic aspects of microalgae, especially within the youngest respondents (18–24 years old) and for those aged over 65 years old. Approximately 85% of all respondents scored the statement “There is a big lack of information about microalgae” with either 4 or 5 (using a 5- point hedonic scale), demonstrating that microalgae and their potential applications are unknown to the majority of the Spanish population. Spanish consumers consider microalgae as: (i) sustainable and environmentally friendly, (ii) nutritious and healthy, and (iii) safe, which is of key importance for food products. The main reasons that were given for not consuming microalgae were lack of information available on the product and lack of consuming habit. The current study also demonstrated that increasing consumer’s knowledge on microalgae has the potential to increase consumer choice and market shares of microalgae-enriched products. Results reported herein could be extrapolated to other European countries, although perception and attitudes towards food can vary depending on cultural considerations.
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    Potential of the microalgae Nannochloropsis and Tetraselmis for being used as innovative ingredients in baked goods
    (Elsevier, 2019-07) Lafarga, Tomás; Mayre, Erika; Echeverría Cortada, Gemma; Viñas Almenar, Inmaculada; Villaró, Silvia; Acién Fernández, Francisco Gabriel; Castellari, Massimo; Aguiló-Aguayo, Ingrid
    The potential use of the microalgae species Tetraselmis and Nannochloropsis was investigated for the production of functional breads and crackers. Optimum flour substitution levels were 2.5% for baked crackers and 1.0 or 2.0% for breads containing Nannochloropsis or Tetraselmis, respectively. No major differences were observed in the physicochemical properties of the end products besides an expected darker and greener colour. Microalgae incorporation led to increased phenolic content and in vitro antioxidant capacity in both matrices. For example, the total phenolic content of crackers increased from 24.6 ± 1.5 mg/100 g in the control to 32.4 ± 0.4 or 34.2 ± 1.0 mg/100 g in crackers containing Tetraselmis or Nannochloropsis, respectively. The amount of bioaccessible polyphenols after a simulated gastrointestinal digestion was also higher in microalgae-containing goods than in the controls. Sensory evaluation showed that microalgae-containing products were competitive with the controls with the added advantage of having an improved nutritional value and a "trendy" ingredient. Moreover, microalgae-containing products showed an increased emission of some volatile compounds such as p-cymene and (Z)-2-heptenal, which are responsible for fresh, citrus, terpenic, woody, and spicy or fatty, oily, and fruity odours, respectively.