Search Results (33,271)

Xynomyzithra Kritis, Pichtogalo Chanion, and Xygalo Siteias are protected designation of origin (PDO) soft cheeses from Crete, widely used in local recipes for appetizers, main courses, and desserts. This study analyzed 71 recipes containing these cheeses to evaluate their nutritional composition and compliance with criteria for balanced meals. Only seven recipes (five appetizers with Xynomyzithra Kritis and two main courses with Xygalo Siteias) met all balanced meal criteria. Most recipes exceeded recommended levels of fat and saturated fat, while carbohydrate and sugar content varied by meal type. Plant-based recipes generally showed better compliance than meat-based ones, with meat-based main courses containing significantly higher protein (12.1 g/100 g) than plant-based equivalents (6.4 g/100 g). The findings indicate that recipes containing PDO soft cheeses—particularly those with Pichtogalo Chanion—require reformulation, to improve adherence to nutritional recommendations. These findings offer practical guidance for chefs, consumers, and policymakers aiming to preserve culinary heritage while promoting healthier dietary patterns. Full article

Food waste in households means that there is a need to recognize the possibilities of balancing activities in the field of obtaining and managing food products. Activities in this area may concern giving away surplus food to others, purchasing local and organic products, limiting shopping activity. Generation Z, which was included in this research, uses new media, including mobile applications, to a greater extent than other generations. The main objective of the research is to recognize and present the food-sustainable behaviors and attitudes of Generation Z consumers. The study used the analysis of source data, which was the basis for formulating four hypotheses. They were verified in empirical studies conducted using the CAWI method. The collected material was analyzed using, among others, the proprietary index of environmentally and socially sustainable behaviors (ESRBI), the Mann-Whitney test. The studies showed that respondents assessed their food behaviors as irresponsible, with women’s assessment being higher than men’s. A positive correlation was demonstrated between the use of food saving applications and the value of the ESRBI index and individual sustainable behaviors. Respondents positively assessed the initiatives of local authorities and housing cooperatives in the area of creating places for sharing food and organizing community gardens. Full article

Medlar (Mespilus germanica L.) fruit presents a good source of bioactive compounds. This study aimed to optimize the traditional extraction method, maceration, in order to obtain extracts rich in polyphenols. The total phenolic compounds (TPC) from physiologically ripe (PRMFs) and consumable ripe (CRMFs) medlar fruits were extracted to develop models with high accuracy and prediction capacity by response surface methodology (RSM). Furthermore, the main phenolic compounds in the extracts were quantified using HPLC, and the extracts were tested for antioxidant activity and hypoglycemic activity. The extracts were prepared according to a central composite design. The extraction parameters for both PRMFs and CRMFs were time (30–210 min), ethanol concentration (20–80%) and solid-to-solvent ratio (1:10–1:50). The obtained results indicated that the optimal conditions for the extraction were 210 min, 66.55% ethanol, and 1:50 solid-to-solvent ratio (PRMF), and 120 min, 74.96% ethanol, and 1:50 solid-to-solvent ratio (CRMF). Under the optimized conditions, values for TPC were in agreement with the values predicted by RSM. Isoquercitrin, rutin, procyanidin B2, chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid were the most abundant compounds in both PRMF and CRMF optimized extracts. TPC, antioxidant activity, and inhibition of α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes did not show significant differences (p > 0.05) among PRMF and CRMF extracts. Full article

Previous research provides valuable insight into energy knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in the context of energy literacy. However, a research gap exists in dealing with a comprehensive understanding of complex relationships on energy-related attributes for adolescents. In this aspect, utilizing the framework of the Value–Belief–Norm (VBN) theory, this study highlighted these complex relationships for the selected adolescents as potential future energy consumers and future decision makers. Participants of the study were a total of 530 8th-grade students attending public schools located in a district of Istanbul, Türkiye. To test the hypothesized connections among the latent constructs, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed. This dataset demonstrates that altruistic values develop pro-environmental beliefs and awareness of consequences directly, but ascribed responsibility indirectly. Interestingly, biospheric and egoistic values showed no significant influence. In line with VBN theory, these students with more strong beliefs about human-nature interdependence develop an awareness of the consequences of their own actions and ascribed responsibility. The finalized model reveals that the relevant behaviors were linked to personal norms that could be positively explained by pro-environmental beliefs, awareness of consequences, and ascribed responsibility. These adolescents believing in the severity of global warming, while focusing on human well-being could be active in creating sustainable energy consumption patterns. This research provides valuable insight into strategies for promoting behavior aimed at reducing the persistent rise in energy consumption. Full article

Food waste presents a major challenge to global sustainability. Up to 60% of this waste occurs at the household level, at which point labeling confusion causes avoidable loss. The present study employed the motivation–opportunity–ability framework to conduct a narrative synthesis of 82 studies and pieces of gray literature, incorporating policies and industry practices to elucidate how food labeling modulates food waste behavior through interactions with consumer motivation, external opportunities, and individual abilities. Food labeling should be considered a systemic intervention tool spanning the entire food supply chain rather than mere carriers of information. The present findings indicate that although standardizing quality and safety label terminology mitigates cognitive confusion, it may have limited efficacy to reduce food waste. Extending shelf life and providing explicit storage guidance are critical strategies that are often undervalued and comparatively underexplored. Labels most effectively reduce waste when they simultaneously activate motivation, opportunity, and ability. When all three elements cannot be activated concurrently, stakeholders should prioritize improving external opportunities or enhancing individual abilities rather than stimulating motivation. Food labeling interventions can only be effective at waste mitigation if systemic and transdisciplinary synergy is achieved among all stakeholders in food supply chains. Full article

Flocs, visible particles formed in sugar-sweetened beverages, reduce clarity and consumer acceptance of products. Their presence can be caused not only by different types of trace impurities in the sugar but also by interactions among beverage components. In this review, scientific reports on acid beverage flocs (ABFs) and alcohol flocs are summarized, the main pathways for their formation are described, and practical options for detecting them and preventing their formation in beverages are compiled. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 and related guidance, literature searches of Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), PubMed, Food Science and Technology Abstracts (FSTA), CAB Abstracts, and International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis (ICUMSA) resulted in the inclusion of 56 studies. In various types of beverages, complexes formed between proteins (Ps) and polyphenols (PPs) often initiate haze and floc formation, while polysaccharides (dextran, pectin, and starch), silica or silicates, and inorganic ions influence charge balance, particle bridging, and floc growth rate. Ethanol in alcohol beverages can further destabilize colloids and promote aggregation. For beet sugars, saponin–protein interactions are a likely pathway for the formation of ABF, but the available evidence is not consistent. In cane sugars, the reported roles of proteins, polysaccharides, silica, and starch in floc formation vary considerably between studies. For quality assurance, ICUMSA floc tests (GS2-40 and GS2-44) should be complemented by turbidity or haze measurement and colloid characterization such as light scattering, ζ–potential, and infrared IR-based analytical methods supported by chemometrics. Risk mitigation works best as a two-level strategy that combines impurity removal during sugar production and stabilization steps in beverage formulation and storage, including the use of clarification agents and control of pH, temperature, ionic strength, and oxygen exposure. Standardized reporting and validation of rapid predictors against ICUMSA benchmarks remain essential. Full article

The global landscape of sustainability challenges has become increasingly complex, characterized by varying regulatory frameworks and market maturity across different nations. The financial significance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors is influenced by industry and firm-specific attributes. Therefore, this study employs an integrated decision support framework that combines grey relational analysis (GRA) models including Deng’s GRA, absolute GRA, and a second synthetic grey relational analysis (SSGRA) with firm-level panel regressions to compare ESG and financial performance linkages across 11 Middle East and Africa (MEA) countries and industrial sectors. Furthermore, the study utilized a sensitivity analysis to check the robustness of SSGRG. Results indicate considerable variability in the relationships between ESG and financial performance across the region. The economies of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) showed the most robust positive relationship between ESG factors and financial performance based on SSGRG, with Kuwait (0.82), Qatar (0.81), and Saudi Arabia (0.80) predominantly influenced by the social and governance dimensions. Conversely, a weak correlation was demonstrated in Egypt (0.54), Nigeria (0.53), and Kenya (0.56). Moreover, financials, communication services, and materials sectors exhibit the greatest integration of ESG factors into financial performance, with composite SSGRG values ranging from 0.75 to 0.78. In contrast, the information technology and energy sectors demonstrate weak association, with composite SSGRG values falling below 0.60. Furthermore, a conservative maximin analysis reveals that corporate governance in Kenya and environmental performance in Oman are identified as the weakest relationship at the country level, while governance in the information technology and energy sectors, environmental management in real estate, and social performance in consumer discretionary sectors are highlighted as weak connections. This study addresses a gap in the literature by developing a novel decision-support framework, providing fresh empirical evidence from emerging markets, and offering theoretical insights into the into influence of stakeholder and institutional factors on ESG value creation. This study provides implications for investors, corporate managers, and policymakers on sustainable finance in emerging markets and presents a decision-making framework that emphasizes ESG initiatives to enhance financial performance. Full article

Wine sensory analysis traditionally relies on complex terminology. This can be challenging to non-expert consumers, particularly regarding mouthfeel sensations. Despite the importance of the latter in determining wine quality and typicity, they lack standardized classification. In this study, we developed and validated a simplified framework for wine taste evaluation that is accessible to consumers with limited tasting experience. The Delphi technique was applied across multiple rounds with a panel of 18 wine experts, primarily sommeliers with experience of diverse consumer profiles. Through an iterative process, attributes were selected from the existing literature and systematically evaluated for relevance, clarity, and accessibility. The validated framework comprises four dimensions: basic tastes (sweetness, acidity, bitterness, salinity, fruitiness); astringency (hardness, dryness, texture); tactile sensations (tingling, warmth, body); and overall evaluation (complexity, balance, taste persistence, alcohol perception). Each attribute includes accessible descriptions and measurement scales anchored with familiar food references to support comparative cognitive processes. All proposed attributes achieved over 85% expert consensus. This framework provides a practical tool that bridges technical wine terminology and everyday consumer language to facilitate communication between industry professionals and consumers. Furthermore, it enables more reliable sensory evaluations in future research and can potentially be extended to other beverages. Full article

Using hedonic consumption theory (HCT) and a niche marketing strategy as analytical frameworks, our study examines consumer behavior in the luxury flower market, a swiftly growing segment of the global luxury goods industry. Adopting a nonexperimental, cross-sectional survey design, we collected primary data from 392 individuals from affluent households (defined as those with annual incomes exceeding $75,000, per standard demographic criteria) via purposive stratified sampling. Our questionnaire, which was reviewed by experts and tested in a pilot study, examined demographics, buying preferences, sustainability awareness, and hedonic motivations. The main findings show that most clients are well-educated women with substantial wealth. They care most about sensory, emotional, and symbolic qualities. Chi-square tests and logistic regressions robustly supported three hypotheses, gender disparities in appreciation, educational and sustainability awareness, and income influences on quality and variety emphasis, with descriptive evidence aligning with two further hypotheses regarding perceived supply shortages and sustainability preferences. The preferred places to buy include nurseries and high-end florists, suggesting opportunities for SMEs. Our study offers initial evidence supporting the application of HCT to perishable luxury floriculture among younger, educated, affluent consumers in North America. It underscores the hedonic appeal heightened by ephemerality and the potential influence of sustainability as a guilt-free enhancement, while indicating opportunities for niche marketing strategies through customization and sustainable sourcing. Our findings indicate opportunities for businesses aiming to reach comparable younger, educated, affluent demographics to fulfill unmet demand through sustainable sourcing, unique varieties, and customized experiences, which align with the SDGs. We conclude with a future research agenda. Full article

Consumer wellbeing systems are characterized by conceptual fragmentation, heterogeneous data sources, and multilevel interactions across economic, psychological, social, and environmental domains. Existing monitoring approaches remain largely unidimensional and lack integrative system architectures capable of supporting real-time, adaptive analysis. This paper proposes a Federated Digital Twin (FDT) framework for Consumer Wellbeing Systems, designed to integrate decentralized, multimodal data while preserving autonomy and privacy. The proposed architecture builds on a five-dimensional digital twin model and extends it through federated interoperability, data fusion, adaptive learning, simulation capabilities, and human-in-the-loop mechanisms. The framework enables the synchronization of observed, self-reported, contextual, and synthetic data across distributed environments, supporting system-level modeling, prediction, and optimization. As an illustrative application, the paper examines Shopping Wellbeing and Shopping–Life Balance as sub-systems within broader wellbeing ecosystems, demonstrating how federated digital twins can unify fragmented theoretical constructs into a coherent, dynamic monitoring structure. The study contributes a system-oriented conceptual architecture for modeling complex human-centric wellbeing ecosystems and outlines implications for systems design, governance, and future interdisciplinary research. Full article

Considering the increasing consumer demand for natural meat tenderization methods, this study explores the potential of Aspergillus oryzae (Koji) to enhance beef quality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the enzymatic effect of Aspergillus oryzae (A. oryzae) on the physicochemical and sensory characteristics, as well as the perception of satiety, in Angus beef. Two distinct anatomical cuts, the neck and the round, were subjected to enzymatic aging using four different Koji-based mixtures. Parameters such as water content, thermal preparation (grilling) loss, expressible moisture, and pH were determined, supplemented by sensory analysis and a satiety test. Compared to untreated or traditionally marinated samples (Teriyaki sauce), Koji-treated samples exhibited lower grilling loss and improved texture. Sensory analysis highlighted a more intense flavor profile and increased acceptability of the enzymatically treated products. The satiety test indicated a predominantly positive perception of postprandial fullness, with negative ratings being rare and exclusive to the control group. These results support the potential of A. oryzae as a natural alternative for optimizing the technological and sensory quality of red meat, contributing to a favorable consumer experience, including satiety perception. Full article

Brazil hosts the world’s greatest stingless bee diversity but remains a leading pesticide consumer. This study evaluated the effects of thiamethoxam on Melipona scutellaris (Apidae) and Scaptotrigona postica (Apidae) larvae using standardized in vitro protocols and patented biomimetic technologies. Larvae were exposed to a field-realistic dose (RD) of 0.02292 ng a.i./larva—calculated using the BeeRex model for citrus crops—and two lower doses: RD/10 and RD/100. Thiamethoxam exposure resulted in significant mortality and developmental alterations, even at 100-fold dilutions. In M. scutellaris, mortality was dose-dependent; RD and RD/10 induced body malformation and reduced food consumption, resulting in >98% mortality. At RD/100, surviving individuals showed significant reductions in body size. In S. postica, all tested doses induced larval darkening and accelerated fungal growth, leading to 100% mortality during the feeding period, including at RD/100. This pattern contrasts with the greater tolerance reported for the adult stage of this species. Overall, the results suggest that larval stages may be more sensitive to thiamethoxam exposure than adults, highlighting the importance of considering different life stages in pesticide risk assessment. These findings also emphasize the need for validated experimental approaches to support environmental risk evaluation for Neotropical pollinators. Full article

The damage caused by herbivores is generally measured as the amount of leaf tissue consumed, without accounting for the fate of the leftover tissue. As a result, the plant defense mechanisms that promote resistance to herbivore feeding by photosynthetically acclimating the rest of the plant to the feeding spot leaf area have not been well exploited. Plant-insect interactions are now becoming better defined with the development of visualization methods that permit spatial whole-leaf assessment of photosynthetic efficiency after herbivore attack. The purpose of our study was to evaluate the spatial heterogeneity of photosystem II (PSII) function at the whole-leaf level before and after herbivory by the Colorado potato beetles. Twenty minutes after Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata) feeding, the maximum efficiency of PSII photochemistry (Fv/Fm) decreased significantly, suggesting photoinhibition due to reduced efficiency of the oxygen-evolving complex (OEC). The decreased quantum yield of PSII photochemistry (Φ_PSII) after feeding, at the neighboring area of the feeding spot and at the rest of the leaf area, was attributed to the reduced efficiency of the open PSII reaction centers (Fv′/Fm′), since there was no change in the fraction of open PSII reaction centers (qp). Nevertheless, plant defense elicitation was activated by the photoprotective mechanism of non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) that reduced the singlet oxygen (¹O₂) formation in potato plants in the neighboring area of the feeding spot and at the rest of the leaf area. In addition, the increased production of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) triggered by this increase suggests that it acted as a signaling molecule in the biotic stress defense response. Full article

Beekeeping is a profitable and mind-relaxing practice; however, monitoring beehives poses significant challenges, such as consuming time and potentially disturbing hive equilibrium, which may lead to colony collapse. Developing precision beekeeping (PB) systems is crucial to assist beekeepers in decision-making, automate redundant hive maintenance, and enhance the security and comfort of bee life. This review systematically explores research on PB systems, based on a keyword-driven search of Scopus and Web of Science databases, yielding 46 relevant publications. The analysis highlights a notable increase in research activity in the field since 2016. The integration of advanced technologies, including machine learning, cloud computing, IoT, and scenario-based communication methods, has proven instrumental in predicting hive states such as queen status, enemy attacks, readiness for harvest, swarming events, and population decline. Commonly measured parameters include hive weight, temperature, and relative humidity, with various sensors employed to ensure precision while minimizing bee disturbance. Additionally, bee traffic monitoring has emerged as a critical approach to assessing hive health. Most studies focus on honeybees rather than stingless bees and, in the context of enemy identification, Varroa destructor is the primary target. This review underscores the potential of novel technologies to revolutionize apiculture and enhance hive management practices. Full article

Automated customer service and algorithmic governance are common in digital marketplaces, yet trust can erode when logistics, refunds, and escalation fail. Complaint-based risk and trust narratives in Turkey’s e-commerce marketplaces are analyzed for January 2019–December 2025 using 118,173 de-identified Turkish and English texts from Şikayetvar, a leading Turkish online consumer-complaint portal, and reviews of official marketplace apps on Google Play and the Apple App Store. BERTopic is implemented in Python with multilingual transformer embeddings, UMAP, HDBSCAN, and c-TF-IDF representations. The selected model identifies 35 micro-topics grouped into five macro-themes: fulfillment disruptions, remediation frictions, product-integrity risks, escalation failures, and governance threats. Monthly probability-weighted prevalence is estimated, and marketplace differences are evaluated with divergence measures, permutation tests, and multinomial regression controlling for time and language. Changepoint tests indicate a shift toward fulfillment grievances in April 2020, rising governance threats from June 2022, and increasing escalation failures linked to automated support from February 2023. These patterns suggest that barriers to human escalation convert operational incidents into platform-level trust judgments, offering monitoring signals for service recovery, marketplace governance, and AI oversight. By isolating escalation failures as a distinct complaint domain, the study links service automation to procedural justice mechanisms that translate operational breakdowns into platform-level trust and risk judgments. Full article