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Companies producing ready‐to‐eat (RTE) meals are looking for processing alternatives that allow them to gain presence in the supermarket chill section. Microwave‐assisted pasteurization systems (MAPS) offer the potential to produce safe, high‐quality foods. This research examined sensory, physical, chemical, and microbial changes in fried rice processed with MAPS and stored at 7 °C over a 6‐week storage period. Additional fried rice samples (cooked but not MAPS‐processed) were stored at –31 °C and were used as the control. Randomly selected trays of each type of rice were analyzed at 1, 4, and 6 weeks of storage. Aroma, appearance, taste/flavor, texture, mouthfeel, and aftertaste were evaluated by a semitrained sensory panel with rate‐all‐that‐apply questions. The type of rice treatment (MAPS or control) significantly influenced sensory attributes (P < 0.05), with firm texture attribute of the egg being more intense in the MAPS‐rice compared to the control. In addition, storage time affected the sensory modalities of both rice samples, including aroma, appearance, and taste/flavor (P < 0.05). No spoilage‐associated sensory attributes were detected in the MAPS‐rice during storage. At each examination point, various physical, chemical, and microbial analyses were conducted for the MAPS‐ and control rice. From the physical and chemical perspective, the MAPS‐rice did not present relevant changes over the period tested. Microbial growth was the main cause of spoilage of the MAPS‐rice; however, MAPS was able to extend the regular 5‐day shelf life of a chilled fried rice meal to 6 weeks, demonstrating the potential of this technology for the RTE industry. Practical Application The findings of this study indicate that, by applying microwave technology to RTE fried rice, the shelf life can be extended from 5 to 7 days up to 42 days (6 weeks) when stored at 7 °C. This temperature closely mimics that of consumers’ refrigerators in the United States. This study also shows the potential of working with a semitrained panel and RATA questions when characterizing sensory changes during storage.

A home-use test (HUT) is one method that provides a measure of ecological validity as the product is consumed in home under common daily use circumstances. One product that benefits from being evaluated in-home are ready-to-eat (RTE) meals. This study determined consumer acceptance of microwave-thermally-pasteurized jambalaya, a multi-meat and vegetable dish from American Cajun cuisine, and a control (cooked frozen jambalaya) through an on-line home-use test (HUT) over a 12-week storage period. Paralleling the HUT, an online auction determined consumers’ willingness to pay. The study also explored how the social environment may impact the liking of the meals when a partner of the participants joined the sensory evaluation of the meals. Consumers (n = 50) evaluated microwave-processed jambalaya stored at 2 °C and a control (cooked frozen jambalaya stored at −31 °C) after 2, 8 and 12 weeks of storage. Consumer liking of different sensory attributes was measured. Participants could choose to share the meals with a partner as a way to enhance ecological validity. The responses from 21 partners to the sensory-related questions were collected. After the sensory evaluation, the participants bid on the meal they had just sampled. Results showed that processing method (microwave vs. control) did not significantly influence the measured sensory attributes. Only flavor liking decreased over storage time (p < 0.05). The inclusion of partners significantly increased (p = 0.04) the liking of the appearance of the meals. The mean values of the bids for the meals ranged from $3.33–3.74, matching prices of commercially available jambalaya meals. This study found suggests that the shelf- life of microwave-processed meals could be extended up to 12 weeks without changing its overall liking. The study also shows the importance of exploring HUT methodology for the evaluation of consumers’ acceptance of microwave-processed jambalaya and how including a partner could contribute to enhance ecological validity.

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Introduction: Rice is a staple food in Costa Rica representing almost 24 % of the total calorie intake in the diet. Consumers have become more quality conscious about the rice consumed, so producers need to focus on the quality of rice along with production. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical profile and consumer preference of five Costa Rican rice varieties: Palmar 18, Basmatico, Chin Chin, INTA-Miravalles, and CR- 5272. Materials and methods: Proximate analysis, amylose, and mineral content were performed in the raw grain. Two different sessions were performed (n=120 each) to evaluate consumer preference measurements using the John Brown R-Index (RJB) index. The first sensory panel selected the best cooking preparation and the second, the preferred rice variety. Instrumental color measurements (L*, C*, hº, DE) were applied to the cooked rice varieties (76-96ºC for 38 min). Results: Regarding the physicochemical characterization, INTAMiravalles showed the highest protein content (8.2%), while Basmatico and Chin Chin, the lowest. Four varieties presented high amylose content (AC) and INTA-Miravalles reported an intermediate AC. The mineral content varied among varieties. INTA-Miravalles showed the highest N, followed by Palmar 18. The cooking preparation from the regulatory agency was preferred by consumers. The consumers’ preference of the varieties ranked from high to low: Basmatico>Chin Chin=CR5772>Palmar 18=INTA-Miravalles. Conclusions: This study suggests that consumer preference for cooked rice was influenced by physicochemical characteristics such as protein, AC, mineral content, and aromatic attributes. Consumer acceptance is an important factor to consider when new varieties are developed. The water-to-rice ratio during cooking played an important role in cooked rice sensory quality.

Introducción. El consumo de frutas y vegetales correlaciona inversamente con la incidencia de enfermedades degenerativas como diabetes, enfermedades cardiovasculares, ciertos tipos de cáncer y cataratas asociadas al envejecimiento, dada la acción de compuestos bioactivos como vitamina C, polifenoles y carotenoides. Objetivo. Evaluar el perfil nutricional de once frutas cultivadas en Costa Rica. Materiales y métodos. Este estudio se realizó en el Centro Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos de la Universidad de Costa Rica, en el 2010. Se determinó el contenido de fibra dietética, polifenoles totales, reportados como equivalentes de ácido gálico (EAG), carotenoides totales expresados como µg β-caroteno y la capacidad hidrofílica de absorción de radicales de oxígeno (H-ORACFL) de once frutas tradicionales o subutilizadas: banano (Musa AAA subgrupo Cavendish cv. ‘Grand Naine’), mora tropical de altura (Rubus adenotrichos cv. ‘vino con espinas rojas’), melón (Cucumis melo cv. ‘Veracruz’), higo (Ficus carica cv. ‘Brown-Turkey’), mango (Mangifera indica cv. ‘Tommy Atkins’), papaya (Carica papaya híbrido ‘Pococí’), pejibaye (Bactris gasipaes H.B.K), piña (Ananas comosus cv. híbrido MD-2 ‘Gold’), membrillo (Cydonia oblonga), jocote (Spondias purpurea cv. Tronador) y tomate de árbol rojo (Solanum betaceum). Las frutas fueron recolectadas en localidades de San José, Cartago, Alajuela, Guanacaste y Limón. Resultados. Seis de las frutas estudiadas presentaron contenidos de fibra dietética entre 4,2 y 6,6 g 100 g-1. La mora tropical de altura presentó el mayor contenido de compuestos fenólicos totales (538 ± 97 mg EAG 100 g-1) y la mayor actividad antioxidante (62,1 ± 4,0 μmol equivalentes de Trolox g-1), y el pejibaye cocido presentó el mayor contenido de carotenoides (72 ± 4 µg β-caroteno g-¹). Conclusión. Se evidencia los altos contenidos de compuestos bioactivos en frutas comúnmente cultivadas en Costa Rica, características nutricionales asociadas a beneficios para la salud, respaldados por estudios clínicos y epidemiológicos.

The purpose of this study was to examine emotional and liking responses to foods designed for older adults and made using microwave-assisted thermal sterilization technology (MATS). Six chicken pasta meals (three each with and without herbs) were formulated with three concentrations of salt at 100%, 75%, and 50%. Seventy-six community-dwelling older adults conducted sensory and emotional evaluations. Sensory testing involved measuring liking of various sensory attributes using a 9-point hedonic scale, Just-about-right scales to measure appropriateness of the intensity of the attributes, and check-all-thatapply questions to identify perceived flavor and texture attributes. EsSense25 methodology was used for capturing food-evoked emotional responses. Significant differences existed in all measured sensory attributes and in 14 out of the 25 tested emotions across the six meals. Liking scores for all pastas with herbs and high salt pasta with no herbs were not significantly different for all tested attributes and fell between neither like nor dislike and like slightly on the 9-point hedonic scale. These samples were also associated with positive emotions related to energy and activation. Low-salt pastas with no herbs were consistently the least liked samples and evoked negative emotions. Results show that sodium content can be reduced by up to half when herbs are added to microwave-processed pasta meals without compromising liking.

A sensory evaluation using a home-use-test (HUT) setting and experimental online auctions at three storage times, were used to elicit willingness to pay (WTP) for two samples of ready meals with extended shelf life, one using microwave assisted pasteurization system (MAPS) and the other using freezing. The effect of the information on the name of a new technology and the environmental impacts associated with each technology was also measured. We found that sensory characteristics of the ready meal are the key drivers for subjects' WTP. Considering the specific context of this study, we did not find evidence that the name of the technology and the information on the environmental impacts associated with each technology impacted participants' WTP. Practical ApplicationsOur study contributes by presenting a protocol for conducting a combined HUT and online auction across three storage times for a complex food matrix (i.e., the jambalaya ready meal) in which the eating environment is important. Also influential is that participants actually ate the meal, therefore the sensory evaluation results that were gathered were more impactful for bids than the extrinsic attributes included. Given the logistic challenges of conducting a HUT along with experimental auctions across time, this study had a limited number of participants. Therefore, we cannot provide a conclusive evidence that disclosing the name of the technology used and its effects on the environment would encourage purchase of ready meals. | INTRODUCTIONThe area of food choice behavior includes psychological, social, economic, as well as sensory studies. The perception of sensory quality attributes is impactful to the WTP but do not fully explain food choice behavior (Jaeger, 2006). In fact, literature on food choice shows that extrinsic factors such as individuals' perceptions and preferences for aspects different from the actual sensory profile of the food have an impact on choice