Beverages | Issue Cover Collection Published in 2024

Health-related nutritional human studies rely on the validity of dietary data provided by study participants. Reliable biomarkers for food intake help objectify data collected by food frequency questionnaires. They facilitate the monitoring of compliance with the study requirements, e.g., abstinence from food, help clean biased data, and remove non-compliant individuals. Biomarker candidates are often revealed by sophisticated metabolomics analyses of body fluids, e.g., urine or plasma, collected from case and control study populations. However, validation for using a biomarker candidate in real-life scenarios is seldom executed. Coffee is a food item of high interest because of the abundance of bioactive compounds and the regularity of lifetime consumption by a large part of the population.

Plant-based milk alternatives are important beverages in US consumer markets. Sustainability, consumer awareness, lifestyle changes, and other value-based reasons are why these beverages are increasing in popularity. The present study is focused on plant-based milk alternatives. It builds on an online consumer survey that explores the factors explaining US consumers’ willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives and their word-of-mouth sharing about these beverages. Animal welfare concerns, environmental concerns, health consciousness, and dairy preferences are the factors under investigation. Results show that animal welfare, dairy preference, environmental concerns, and plant-based milk enthusiasm are significant predictors of willingness to try plant-based milk alternatives.

Given the high sugar content of chocolate-flavored milk and the growing demand for healthier, reduced-sugar alternatives, the present study investigated how replacing sucrose with either synthetic (acesulfame-K) or natural (steviol glycoside) sweeteners in chocolate-flavored milk affected the sensory profile as well as consumer perception and liking. It was found that partial sucrose replacement preserved sensory qualities, while full replacement led to bitterness and off-flavors. Our cluster analysis identified two segments: one favored the synthetic sweetener system, while the other preferred partial sucrose replacement, regardless of sweetener type. These findings emphasize the need for consumer segmentation in developing reduced-sugar products, with partial sucrose replacement showing promise in maintaining taste expectations.

In the present study, six evolved Saccharomyces cerevisiae populations with improved fermentative abilities compared to their parental strains, generated through adaptive laboratory evolution (ALE), were evaluated under real winemaking conditions using the grape musts Assyrtiko and Roditis. The ethanol-tolerant populations evolved solely with delayed glucose, completing the fermentation due to slow fructose assimilation, albeit showing improved ethanol yields compared to their parental strains. The volatile compounds of the evolved populations were significantly different from those of the parental strains. Statistically significant differences were observed in the organoleptic profiles between the evolved populations’ and parental strains’ wines. Wine from one evolved population (BLR200) was rated higher in overall aroma and quality.