The post-harvest practice is important to maintain and prolong the shelf life of fruits and vegetable. However, farmer’s adoption towards agriculture practices is still low. This research aims to determine post-harvest adoption among fruit farmers in Johor. The study employs a Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and Theory Planned Behaviour (TPB) to evaluate the factors that influencing post-harvest practice adoption. 150 fruit farmers in Johor were chosen by using a simple random sampling technique. This study indicates that the level of performance expectations (M=4.27), effort expectations (M=4.36), facilitating conditions (M=3.95), attitude (M=4.09) and post-harvest practices adoption (M=4.33) have a high mean score. This study emphasises the importance of post-harvest practices adoption in improving and maintaining the quality of fruits. Post-harvest practices adoption could help to enhance the per capita availability of fruits because the adoption of post-harvest practises and technologies will affect the reduction in fruits losses, thus increasing the availability of fruits products.
Recently, date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) seeds have gained much popularity due to their vast applications that benefit people and the environment, elevated with plenty of research on food product formulation, cosmetics, and medicinal supplements. Date seeds constitute 10-15% of the date fruit weight. Although date seeds are considered waste products, however, they contain many valuable substances such as carbohydrates, oil, dietary fibre, protein, bio-active polyphenol, tannin and natural antioxidants. Thus, valorisation of the date seeds is necessary as the value could be utilized maximally if they are being studied aptly. This study was intended to (i) evaluate the physical properties of beef and lamb in terms of texture, pH, colour, cooking loss, and water holding capacity as affected by date seed powder; and (ii) compare the tendering effect of date seed powder towards beef and lamb. Texture profile analysis indicated significant differences (p≤0.05) in terms of hardness, springiness, chewiness, and gumminess between the different amount of seed powder used in marinated beef and lamb. The lowest pH value belonged to 20 g of date seed powder which was 5.7 and 6.2 for beef and lamb, respectively. The colour of the lamb was found to be significantly different in terms of lightness, redness, and yellowness when date seed powder was used regardless of its amount. Both beef and lamb displayed a statistically significant (p≤0.05) reduction of colour (L*, a*, and b*) from 20 g treatment samples with 29.7 and 26.5, respectively over the control samples. For beef, redness and yellowness demonstrated a significant difference (p≤0.05) for 20 g treatment samples marinated with date seed powder. Both cooking loss and water holding capacity (WHC) was reduced as the amount of date seed powder used was increased. Different amounts of date seed powder affected the physical properties of beef and lamb, while 15 g and 20 g of date seed powder showed a positive result in regards to meat tenderness.
With modernization and lifestyle changes, instant food emerges as a fast-growing food product in the food industry worldwide, and Malaysia makes no exception. Most people like to eat food that can be prepared quickly, thereby saving time and energy. Instant food satisfies the convenience seekers’ demand since it is a convenient food that requires minimal preparation before consumption. To dominate the competitive handicap in the marketplace, marketers must have a good grasp on consumer behaviour and preferences that prevail buying decisions. However, information on what constitutes buying behaviour of consumers from Kota Bharu, Kelantan towards instant food products is relatively limited. In this context, a survey study is presented to explore the key factors affecting consumer buying behaviour of instant food products in Kota Bharu. The questionnaire, validated by the Cronbach’s Alpha test had been distributed to 384 Kota Bharu respondents who were sampled by convenience sampling. Demographic characteristics of respondents are summarized by the descriptive analysis. Exploratory factor analysis unveiled eight underlying factors prompting consumers to buy instant food products. These eight factors accounted for around three-fifths of the total variance explained. It was found that the factor “marketing and branding attributes” had the most decisive influence on consumers.
Globally, the demand for organic food rapidly rises and exceeds domestic supplies. Many are aware of the benefits of organic food, and it may guarantee a good lifestyle among the world’s populations. However, in most developing countries, including Malaysia, the supply growth of organic food cannot keep up with demand growth due to the slow transition from conventional to organic farming. To date, consumers are more preferred to choose food products that are naturally grown, good for health and may not harm the environment. This study examines the level of buying behaviour towards organic food among Malay consumers. Two hundred respondents were selected in this study by using the purposive sampling technique. The data were then analysed using descriptive analysis and measured using the mean score. The results showed high mean scores for all dependent and independent variables: consumer buying behaviour, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. Hence, this study can be concluded that Malay consumers would also like to consume organic food, but their socio-economic background may not permit them to have it frequently. The price of organic food is also known as pricey compared to non-organic. Hence, this study is significant for all stakeholders, including the farmer, policymaker, retailer and supplier, to ensure a good and sound organic food chain in Malaysia.
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