Browsing by Author "Sarasty, Oscar (TTU)"
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Item Consumer Valuation of Thanksgiving Items and the Role of Organic Certifications(2023) Sarasty, Oscar (TTU); Amin, Modhurima Dey (TTU)Previous research links organic purchasing motivations to personal and family health. We conduct a national survey to explore whether this preference intensifies when preparing family meals, especially during Thanksgiving. We find that approximately 83% of consumers change their consumption habits for Thanksgiving, with a notable preference for organic products. Results from the choice experiment indicate willingness to pay premiums for Thanksgiving-themed items, especially those with USDA-certified organic or certified naturally grown labels. These findings underscore policy initiatives that strengthen consumer understanding of organic certifications and support producers in securing them, capitalizing on the seasonal demand surge.Item Effect of the traffic-light system on nutrition labeling in processed food products in the Ecuadorian population(2023) Sarasty, Oscar (TTU); Carpio, Carlos (TTU); Cabrera, TaniaThe 2012 Ecuadorian National Nutrition and Health Survey found that a high proportion of the country's population is overweight or obese. To address this health issue, in 2013, the Ecuadorian government implemented the use of a mandatory traffic-light (TL) nutritional labeling to be displayed on all processed food and beverages for sale in the country. We aimed to evaluate Ecuadorian consumers' preferences for the nutritional attributes represented in the TL nutritional labels. In this cross-sectional study, 1,152 Ecuadorian consumers aged 18 and older in charge of food purchases completed an online survey. Results of a choice experiment with yogurt products revealed strong preferences and willingness to pay for yellow and green labels reaching price premiums of $1.15 for fat and $1.34 for sugar relative to red labels. The study provides evidence that consumers have high understanding of the TL nutritional labeling and prefer products with colors representing healthier alternatives.Item Efficacy of Common Antimicrobial Interventions at and above Regulatory Allowable Pick-Up Levels on Pathogen Reduction(2023) Blandon, Sabrina E. (TTU); Vargas, David A. (TTU); Casas, Diego E. (TTU); Sarasty, Oscar (TTU); Woerner, Dale R. (TTU); Echeverry, Alejandro (TTU); Miller, Markus F. (TTU); Carpio, Carlos E. (TTU); Sanchez-Plata, Marcos X. (TTU); Legako, Jerrad F. (TTU)The objective of this study was to evaluate the food safety efficacy of common antimicrobial interventions at and above required uptake levels for processing aids on the reduction of Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp. through spray and dip applications. Beef trim was inoculated with specific isolates of STEC or Salmonella strains. Trim was intervened with peracetic or lactic acid through spray or dip application. Meat rinses were serially diluted and plated following the drop dilution method; an enumerable range of 2–30 colonies was used to report results before log transformation. The combination of all treatments exhibits an average reduction rate of 0.16 LogCFU/g for STEC and Salmonella spp., suggesting that for every 1% increase in uptake there is an increase of 0.16 LogCFU/g of reduction rate. There is a statistical significance in the reduction rate of Shiga-toxin producing Escherichia coli in relation to the uptake percentage (p < 0.01). The addition of explanatory variables increases the R2 of the regression for STEC, where all the additional explanatory variables are statistically significant for reduction (p < 0.01). The addition of explanatory variables increases the R2 of the regression for Salmonella spp., but only trim type is statistically significant for reduction rate (p < 0.01). An increase in uptake percentages showed a significant increase in reduction rate of pathogens on beef trimmings.Item Shelf-Life Evaluation of Pork Loins as Influenced by the Application of Different Antimicrobial Interventions(2022) Vargas, David A (TTU); Blandon, Sabrina E (TTU); Sarasty, Oscar (TTU); Osorio-Doblado, Andrea M (TTU); Miller, Markus F (TTU); Echeverry, Alejandro (TTU)The objective of the study was to determine the impact of antimicrobial interventions and refrigerated dark storage on the shelf-life of pork chops. Boneless pork loins (n = 36) were split and stored for 1, 14, 28, and 42 days at 2–4 °C after being treated with the following antimicrobials: water (WAT), Bovibrom 225 ppm (BB225), Bovibrom 500 ppm (BB500), Fit Fresh 3 ppm (FF3), or washing solution 750 ppm (WS750). After the end of dark storage, pork loins were further processed and sliced into chops, overwrapped in trays, and displayed for up to an additional 96 h in a retail case. Instrumental and visual color measurements as well as mesophilic and psychrotrophic aerobic bacteria, and lactic acid bacteria were measured. BB500 and FF3 performed better in inhibiting the growth of indicator bacteria under 6 logs; however, FF3 presented the best stability for color during storage. Principal component analysis clustered initial dark storage days with a* and chroma while % discoloration, hue, b* and microorganisms where clustered with longer dark storage times. In general, treatment FF3 presented the best performance, both in inhibiting microbial growth and maintaining the stability of color, thus increasing the shelf-life of pork loins.Item Traffic light nutrition labeling preferences among children(2023) Cabrera, Tania; Carpio, Carlos E. (TTU); Sarasty, Oscar (TTU); Watson, Susan E.; Gonzalez, María SusanaObjective: This study evaluates the effects of traffic light (TL) nutritional label attributes on children’s food choices. Data were collected from a survey of 1179 Ecuadorian students attending public middle and high school in three major cities in the country’s southern region (Machala, Loja, and Zamora). The survey instrument included two sets of choice experiments: one with yogurt products and the other with soft drinks (sodas and juices). In the choice scenarios, children were presented with two products that differed in price and the TL label colors for sugar, salt, and fat. Children’s product selections in the choice experiments were analyzed using mixed logit models. The results indicate that labels affect food choices. Additionally, children are willing to pay increasing premium levels for products with yellow, green, and “does not contain” labels compared to products with red labels. Overall, the study’s findings offer evidence that TL labels are effective in helping children make food choices consistent with their preferences for food products with TL labels representing healthier alternatives.