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Crispness is one of the most important and desirable textural characteristics that signify freshness and high quality in breaded fried foods. Though many approaches to instrumental measurement of crispness have been made, the best measurements are still inconclusive. There is no reliable method available that can accurately measure and quantify crispness in breaded fried foods. In this study, the mechanical and ultrasonic techniques were used to determine crispness in breaded fried chicken nuggets under different storage conditions. The mechanical measurements have been made, using an Instron universal testing machine. An ultrasonic non-destructive evaluation system was used to measure ultrasonic properties of breaded friend chicken nuggets. A pair of dry-coupling 250-kHz ultrasonic transducers was used to perform the ultrasonic transmission through the breaded fried chicken nugget. The equipment set up was in the through-transmission mode because breaded fried chicken nugget is highly attenuative material. A sensory panel of eight members was trained to evaluate crispness in breaded fried foods. Panelists rated crispness on a nine-point category scale (1 = not crisp/soggy, 9 = very crisp). Sensory crispness values for breaded fried foods under different storage conditions were obtained. Ultrasonic velocity, transmission loss, peak frequencies and its energies, peak force and total energy were determined for each tested product. Correlation between sensory crispness and instrumental parameters suggests that the ultrasonic method can be used to evaluate crispness. The ultrasonic velocity had high correlation with sensory crispness (R2 = 0.83). This indicates that sensory crispness could be reasonably well predicted by the ultrasonic velocity. / Master of Science

Research has indicated that college-age women are not consuming the recommended daily servings of dairy foods, and therefore, have inadequate calcium intakes as well. Four focus groups were conducted with a total of 29 college women to explore their perceptions, opinions, thoughts, and feelings about dairy foods. Single, non-Hispanic white females, aged 19-22, enrolled in state-funded colleges and universities in Virginia were recruited for the study. Discussion questions addressed preferences for dairy foods, advantages and disadvantages of dairy foods, factors that influence dairy consumption, and ideas for product improvements. Focus group discussions were audio taped, transcribed by the researcher, then checked for accuracy by a Virginia Tech undergraduate student. Major themes and subthemes were identified, and results were reported in the following theme categories: 1) health and nutrition perceptions of dairy foods, 2) external influences on dairy food consumption, 3) characteristics of dairy products, and 4) ideas for product improvements. Women in this study perceived the high calcium content of dairy foods to be a health benefit. Women thought calcium was important for the prevention of osteoporosis; however, most women did not seem to perceive osteoporosis as an immediate health concern. A predominant theme throughout all focus groups was that college women thought many dairy foods were high in fat. Use of calcium supplements as well as other vitamin/mineral supplements to meet nutrient requirements was common among this sample of college women. Other factors that influenced women's dairy food choices included family influences (especially mothers), college lifestyle, and media sources. Specifically, mothers encouraged women to drink milk during childhood and to use supplements. Women's busy lifestyles at college influenced them to choose convenient dairy foods. Women's concern with body weight and image played a role in their lower fat dairy food choices. Sensory characteristics of dairy foods, particularly taste, were important to the college women's dairy food choices. Women wanted convenient and "easily accessible" dairy foods, and their ideas for product improvements included smaller package sizes, easier opening of packages, and improved availability of low fat dairy options in restaurants and dining halls. Nutrition educators should strive to emphasize the importance of adequate dairy food consumption to college women now to prevent osteoporosis in the future. Continued promotion of low fat dairy choices is important to help ensure that women receive adequate intake of calcium and other important nutrients. / Master of Science

This study was conducted to investigate the factors that affect the duration of breastfeeding in low and middle income women, and to determine if low income women have a greater incidence of decreased duration of breastfeeding. Specifically, the effects of early introduction of formula and solid food and mother’s perceived inadequate milk supply, on the duration of breastfeeding, was researched. A questionnaire was developed and one on one interviews conducted on 147 women who breastfed a baby within the past five years. Data analysis included crosstabulation of selected variables, descriptive analyses, and chi square analyses. Results indicated that the majority of the women surveyed introduced formula early, were long term breastfeeders, between the ages of 30-39, and college graduates. There was no difference in duration of breastfeeding between women of low and middle incomes, however, women of middle income terminated breastfeeding early to return to work or school and tended to introduce formula earlier than low income women. Furthermore, mothers who introduced formula or solid foods early, were generally short term breastfeeders. Mothers who introduced formula and solid foods early cited insufficient milk supply as their main reason for terminating breastfeeding. Therefore, mothers perceived to have an insufficient milk supply, tend to introduce formula and solid foods early, thus, contributing to a possible decrease in duration of breastfeeding. / Master of Science

Previous research has revealed that adolescents have the highest prevalence of unsatisfactory nutritional status and unstructured eating patterns. They also recognized the importance of snacks in the eating habits of this population group. The purpose of this study was to investigate the snacking habits of undergraduate college students, and their correlations with the population’s general eating practices and response to nutrition education. Two hundred eighty four a nutrition course undertook a term project in which they provided information on consumption in the percentage calories provided by protein, fat, carbohydrate and alcohol; their nutrient meals and snacks; and their vitamin/mineral supplement(s) usage toward the beginning of the class. Toward the end of the class, they answered questions on the effect of nutrition education on their eating habits for the overall diet and on vitamin/mineral supplement usage. They also re-ported their frequencies of meals and snacks, their snacks’ food preferences, and responded relationships between snacking perceptions. Correlational statistics were used to identify any significant all the variables. The data analysis revealed that the unstructured eating patterns of college students do not automatically mean unsatisfactory nutritional status and a fondness for just low nutrient dense foods. However, no specific trend could be detected between the snacking perceptions and the consumption practices of college students. / Master of Science

Frankfurters with 15% fat and 25% USDA added water were formulated with either prerigor or postrigor lean meat and postrigor fat using typical manufacturing practices. These frankfurters were compared to others produced using a 30 min extended mixing process (EM) on the lean component at either 2° or 16°C and either 30 or 100% of the formulation water. Results indicated that prerigor lean offered no advantages in the cooking yield nor reduction in fluid accumulation in vacuum packaged product stored (5°C) for 30 days. In addition, prerigor treatments had lower (P<0.05) Instron hardness and distance to fracture values than postrigor treatments. EM with 30% of the formulation water resulted in lower distance to fracture (P<0.05), cohesiveness (P<0.05), springiness (P<0.05), and hardness (P<0.07) values compared to those with 100%. In general, the texture of EM frankfurters was not significantly different from traditionally processed products, though independent variables beyond physiological state could not be separately tested. Traditional mixing resulted in higher L*, a*, and b* values than EM treatments. Within EM treatments, mixing with only 30% of the water resulted in significantly lower CIE a* values, but increased L* and b* values. / Master of Science

The purpose of this study was to compare the nutrient content of a new instant baby food product to jar baby food of similar product formulation. Instant and jar "Vegetable and Beef" and "Bananas" products processed in 1985 and 1987 were analyzed for available lysine, vitamin B-6 and pyridoxyllysine content. The available lysine content of 100 grams of baby food was found to be higher in the instant products, but when adjusted for protein content, available lysine was higher in the jar products. This indicates that drum-drying used for the instant products is more detrimental in regard to lysine availability than retorting. The vitamin B-6 content of the instant products was found to be higher than that of the jar products. However, due to the addition of ingredients with little or no vitamin B-6 content to the jar products, no conclusion about processing effects on vitamin B-6 content can be made. Products processed in 1985 tended to be lower in nutrient content than the products processed in 1987. Pyridoxyllysine, a compound thought to affect vitamin B-6 bioavailability, could not be detected in any of the baby foods, either by amino acid or HPLC analysis. The instant products were found to be at least equal to the jar products with regard to available lysine and vitamin B-6 content. All products also appear to provide sufficient amounts of these nutrients to infants less than one year of age. / Master of Science

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No / An ethnobiological field study on food plants and medicinal foods traditionally consumed in three Arbëresh (ethnic Albanian) communities in northern Lucania (southern Italy) document approximately 120 botanical taxa used for these purposes. Non-domesticated food vegetables (liakra), mostly gathered during the spring season, play a central role as traditional functional food. Quantitative ethnobotanical, ethnotaxonomical, ethnoecological, ethnogastronomical, and ethnopharmacological aspects related to gathering, processing, cooking and consumption of liakra are discussed. Unusual food species, such as Lycium europeaum, Centaurea calcitrapa, and a few spontaneous weedy Asteraceae and Brassicaceae species are locally used in the kitchen. Most of these are very poorly known phytochemically and phytopharmacologically. Moreover, an analysis of taste perception of the most commonly used botanical foods was conducted in the village of Ginestra. Arbëresh taste classification and indigenous criteria related to the perception of bitter taste in considering non-cultivated plants as food or medicine are discussed as well.