October 6/Baton Rouge, La./Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week -- Recent research from the U.S was "designed to develop low-fat sugar-free frozen sherbet products containing an acceptable level of soy protein (SP) recommended by the Food and Drug Administration and to determine consumer sensory profile driving consumer acceptance and purchase intent. Four orange-flavored sherbets were manufactured using four levels of SP isolate (6.0, 6.5, 7.5 and 7.9g/serving) and evaluated by 140 consumers."

"Consumers evaluated each sample for acceptability of appearance/color, flavor, sweetness, sourness, texture/mouthfeel and overall liking. Consumers also evaluated overall acceptance and purchase intent of these products. All four formulations were overall different (multivariate analysis of variance, Pr > F = 0.0003). Appearance and sweetness were not used by the consumers to differentiate among the four sherbet formulations. Formulations with 7.9g and 6.0g SP were equally liked with the mean overall liking score of 5.60-5.66. Formulation with 6.0g SP had the highest acceptance (65.0%) and purchase intent (55.7%) after consumers had been informed of soy health benefits. Specifically, overall liking and texture were identified as the two most critical attributes affecting overall acceptance and purchase intent of these products," wrote J. Walker and colleagues, Louisiana State University.

The researchers concluded, "Consumer interest in healthy eating is increasing. Soy-based products have moved into the marketplace and are becoming increasingly popular. Consumers tend to associate consuming soy with healthy eating habits. In this study, consumer acceptability of low-fat sugar-free sherbets containing soy protein (SP) was evaluated. Development of a frozen dessert with SP would give consumers another venue to satisfy consumer's eating desire and provide them with the health benefits of soy."

Walker and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Food Quality ("Consumer Acceptance and Purchase Intent of a Novel Low-fat Sugar-free Sherbet Containing Soy Protein." Journal of Food Quality, 2010;33(Suppl. 1):27-41).

For additional information, contact C.A. Boeneke, Louisiana State University, Center Agriculture, School Animal Science, Louisiana Agriculture Experimental Station, 111 Dairy Science Bldg, Baton Rouge, LA 70803.

From the October 18, 2010, Prepared Foods E-dition