BACKGROUND Spirulina microalgae have been added to food; however, there have been few reports on the methods used to protect the antioxidant potential against process conditions, and the effects on the sensory characteristics of products need to be better described. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence on the technological properties, sensory profile, and acceptability of the pasta with free or microencapsulated Spirulina biomass added. Pasta formulations included: free Spirulina (FSP), microencapsulated Spirulina (MSP), and empty microspheres (EMP), which were compared with the control pasta (CP). RESULTS The microencapsulation protected the antioxidant potential of Spirulina in 37.8% of the pasta cooking conditions. The microspheres presented low solubility in water (86 g.kg−1) and high encapsulation efficiency (87.6%), this being appropriate for addition to products that need cooking in water. The technological properties of pasta (water absorption, weight gain, firmness, and adhesiveness) were affected, but the overall acceptability index (85.13%) was not influenced by the addition of microspheres, despite changes observed in the sensory profile obtained by the CATA (check‐all‐that‐apply). CONCLUSIONS Spirulina could be added to pasta even without microencapsulation but the microencapsulation in alginate allows for the protection of the antioxidant potential of the biomass, representing a potential alternative for the bakery industry. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry

Spirulina microalgae possess proven benefits to health. It presents antioxidants that needs to be protected during the food processes, what can be done using microencapsulation techniques. Besides, the encapsulation could prevent the rejection of the food added of Spirulina due to the seaweed flavor. The aim was to accomplish the microencapsulation of Spirulina in maltodextrin and Arabic gum and evaluate the influence in the physicochemical and sensorial profile of handmade ice cream. The ice cream with Spirulina presented 35% to 53% more proteins in relation to the standard formulation. All ice creams showed an acceptability index superior than 70%. The encapsulation was able to mask the taste of seaweed and seaweed aroma; however, this fact does not lead to a greater acceptability of the ice creams.

Food presents sensory attributes that can be identified, described and quantified using descriptive sensory methods. These methods have been used to developing of new products, quality control, formulation changes and to the evaluation of shelf life in the food industry. Traditional descriptive techniques have as limitations the requirement of trained evaluators since they present high degree of difficulty/complexity of these evaluations. Another disadvantage is the time needed to conduct the training, making the method very expensive. To reduce the time analysis and costs of traditional descriptive techniques, recent research is seeking to develop and validate methodologies that make possible to describe foods through the use of consumers, avoiding the need of trained judges. The objective was to describe the advances of the descriptive methodology named Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) and their variations, as well as their advantages and limitations.