Acceptance of Novel Technologies Used to Trace and Certify Food Products

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Analytical Methods".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (21 April 2023) | Viewed by 4637

Special Issue Editors


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1. Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Via Milano 24, 26100 Cremona, Italy
2. EngageMinds HUB – Consumer, Food & Health Engagement Research Center, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 20123 Milan, Italy
Interests: food consumption; consumer psychology; consumer acceptance; engagement; food involvement
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

New food traceability technologies, such as omics-based approaches, blockchain technology, TraceCore XM the Internet of Things (IoT), QR codes, radio-frequency identification (RFID) and information and communication technologies (ICT), are of growing interest for the future of both food quality and food safety. However, if, on the one side, these technologies are potentially able to better ensure the quality of food and health of consumers, on the other side, their use in food production and certification processes could be questioned by citizens, as this might be perceived as an intrusion into important spheres of their life. Nevertheless, for ensuring successful implementation of such technologies, it is not only crucial to understand the opinions, attitudes and beliefs that impact on technology acceptance or adoption by consumers but it is also paramount to consider the inclination and attitudes of all the relevant decision-maker units, that is, chain actors. Given these premises, it is important to conduct research that delves into the barriers and benefits that the key actors in the food supply chain (e.g., farmers, processors and consumers) perceive about new traceability technologies used to certify food products. In particular, understanding the inclination of key stakeholders allows one to create effective information and educational campaigns that dispel doubts and concerns related to the new food traceability technology by increasing their trust and acceptance.

Prof. Dr. Guendalina Graffigna
Dr. Luigi Lucini
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • big data
  • artificial intelligence
  • novel food traceability technology
  • food certification
  • food authenticity
  • food integrity
  • acceptance
  • attitude, behaviours
  • supply chain actors

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 372 KiB  
Article
Dual-Layer Index for Efficient Traceability Query of Food Supply Chain Based on Blockchain
by Chaopeng Guo, Yiming Liu, Meiyu Na and Jie Song
Foods 2023, 12(11), 2267; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods12112267 - 05 Jun 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1460
Abstract
Blockchain techniques have been introduced to achieve decentralized and transparent traceability systems, which are critical components of food supply chains. Academia and industry have tried to enhance the efficiency of blockchain-based food supply chain traceability queries. However, the cost of traceability queries remains [...] Read more.
Blockchain techniques have been introduced to achieve decentralized and transparent traceability systems, which are critical components of food supply chains. Academia and industry have tried to enhance the efficiency of blockchain-based food supply chain traceability queries. However, the cost of traceability queries remains high. In this paper, we propose a dual-layer index structure for optimizing traceability queries in blockchain, which consists of an external and an internal index. The dual-layer index structure accelerates the external block jump and internal transaction search while preserving the original characteristics of the blockchain. We establish an experimental environment by modeling the blockchain storage module for extensive simulation experiments. The results show that although the dual-layer index structure introduces a little extra storage and construction time, it significantly improves the efficiency of traceability queries. Specifically, the dual-layer index improves the traceability query rate by seven to eight times compared with that of the original blockchain. Full article
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13 pages, 1580 KiB  
Article
Screening and Evaluation of Active Compounds in Polyphenol Mixtures by a Novel AAPH Offline HPLC Method and Its Application
by Zhaoyang Wu, Guanglei Zuo, Soo-Kyeong Lee, Sung-Mo Kang, Sang-Youn Lee, Saba Noreen and Soon-Sung Lim
Foods 2023, 12(6), 1258; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods12061258 - 16 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1283
Abstract
In this study, we developed a novel offline high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method based on 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) radicals for antioxidant screening in 20 polyphenolic compounds and used the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay to evaluate their antioxidant activity. Compared to the existing [...] Read more.
In this study, we developed a novel offline high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method based on 2,2′-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (AAPH) radicals for antioxidant screening in 20 polyphenolic compounds and used the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity assay to evaluate their antioxidant activity. Compared to the existing offline HPLC methods based on 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), the offline HPLC method based on the AAPH radical is more sensitive. Additionally, we applied this method to Lepechinia meyenii (Walp.) Epling extract and screened out seven antioxidants, caffeic acid, hesperidin, rosmarinic acid, diosmin, methyl rosmarinate, diosmetin, and n-butyl rosmarinate, which are known antioxidants. Therefore, this study provides new insights into the screening of antioxidants in natural extracts. Full article
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14 pages, 2499 KiB  
Article
Optimizing Levilactobacillus brevis NPS-QW 145 Fermentation for Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) Production in Soybean Sprout Yogurt-like Product
by Yue Zhang, Mengjiao Zhu, Wenjing Lu, Cen Zhang, Di Chen, Nagendra P. Shah and Chaogeng Xiao
Foods 2023, 12(5), 977; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods12050977 - 25 Feb 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1431
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid with various physiological functions. Levilactobacillus brevis NPS-QW 145 strains active in GABA catabolism and anabolism can be used as a microbial platform for GABA production. Soybean sprouts can be treated as a fermentation substrate for [...] Read more.
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a non-protein amino acid with various physiological functions. Levilactobacillus brevis NPS-QW 145 strains active in GABA catabolism and anabolism can be used as a microbial platform for GABA production. Soybean sprouts can be treated as a fermentation substrate for making functional products. This study demonstrated the benefits of using soybean sprouts as a medium to produce GABA by Levilactobacillus brevis NPS-QW 145 when monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the substrate. Based on this method, a GABA yield of up to 2.302 g L−1 was obtained with a soybean germination time of one day and fermentation of 48 h with bacteria using 10 g L−1 glucose according to the response surface methodology. Research revealed a powerful technique for producing GABA by fermentation with Levilactobacillus brevis NPS-QW 145 in foods and is expected to be widely used as a nutritional supplement for consumers. Full article
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