Sensory Features Introduced by Brewery Spent Grain with Impact on Consumers’ Motivations and Emotions for Fibre-Enriched Products

Abstract

The aim of this work was both to formulate three different fibre-enriched products by the addition of Brewery Spent Grain (BSG), and to evaluate the impact of this fibre enrichment on sensory quality, acceptability, and purchase intention under blind conditions. BSG was incorporated into bread, pasta, and chocolate milk at levels of 8.3%, 2.8%, and 0.35% (w/w), respectively. The fibre-enriched products and their regular counterparts were evaluated together by consumers through a CATA questionnaire, the EsSense 25 Profile, an overall acceptability rating, and a purchase intention ranking. Although fibre-enriched bread and chocolate milk ranked lower in overall acceptability compared with their counterparts, no significant difference was found for fibre-enriched pasta (p > 0.05). Purchase intention did not differ significantly for both bread and pasta (p > 0.05), yet the reasons for purchasing them differed significantly (p < 0.05). Consumers recognised the fibre enrichment in these two products and, therefore, were willing to partially compromise on sensory attributes. The fibre-enriched chocolate milk, nonetheless, scored significantly (p < 0.05) lower in purchase intention than the control. This work demonstrates that the effect of BSG addition is product-specific, and that fibre perception makes consumers feel more confident.

Effect of Information on Consumers’ Response to Different Food Categories Enriched With Brewer’s Spent Grain

“…The previous results indicate that information exerted a "halo" effect on consumers in all products as these were better accepted when information was provided, yet no modifications were introduced to their formulations (Biondi and Camanzi, 2019;Li and Dando, 2019). Although some consumers may have inferred the fiber-enrichment under blind conditions and experienced the "halo" effect for bread and pasta (Curutchet et al, 2021a), its effect was intensified with the presence of information. Indeed, the nutritional and environmental claims were clearly displayed on the labels which may have led to a cognitive bias in consumers that modified their sensory evaluation of the products.…”

“…The dietary fiber content of the enriched versions had a 56, 213 and 14% increase, compared with the regular pasta, bread, and chocolate milk. All products were formulated according to Curutchet et al (2021a) and developed in the pilot plant of Universidad Católica del Uruguay.…”

“…To evaluate the impact of information on consumer's response, the difference between the acceptability of the fiberenriched product and the regular product was calculated and expressed as an index (informed index). This index was also calculated for data on acceptability reported by Curutchet et al (2021a) under blind conditions, for the three products: bread, pasta, and chocolate milk (blind index). Comparisons between the informed index and blind index are represented in Figure 4.…”

“…Among these are the following which are distinct: optimization of the resources, minimization of waste, and fortification of food with dietary fiber (Mussatto, 2014;Lynch et al, 2016;Naibaho et al, 2021). As BSG has a high dietary fiber content, which accounts for over 45% of dry matter (Curutchet et al, 2021a), it can be used as a source of fiber.…”

“…FIGURE 4| Difference between the acceptability of the fiber-enriched and the regular product, for bread, pasta, and chocolate milk for informed condition (informed index) and blind condition (blind index; calculated according to data reported byCurutchet et al, 2021a).…”