BackgroundSeveral studies have evaluated the existence of factors that influence the consumption of vegetables in children, such as family environment, daily exposure to one or several vegetables, parents’ consumption and consumption pattern and the way in which vegetables are prepared in the household, among others. The objective of this study was to investigate the reasons for consumption associated with each vegetable in school-aged children through a survey designed to be answered by the parents.MethodsA preliminary study with 162 parents was carried out on the consumption of vegetables in children aged 6 to 12 years. Based on the information obtained, a survey was designed with 14 phrases to investigate the reasons for the low consumption of each type of vegetable among school-aged children, which was answered online by 419 parents.ResultsThe results obtained allowed us to categorise the vegetables into 6 groups. Group A consisted of tomatoes, corn, pumpkin and carrots as the vegetables that children like to eat most. Group B contains the vegetables that are consumed mostly camouflaged in other preparations, such as onions and red peppers. Group C contains only cauliflower, which was negatively associated with senses, such as colour, smell and taste. This vegetable was never offered to children by a high percentage of parents. Group D consists of green vegetables: zucchini, spinach, chard and peas. Vegetables of this group are added to other foods and the child usually ingests them camouflaged or obliged. Group E consists of beetroot, lettuce and broccoli. Beetroot and lettuce were the vegetables parents reported were most often rejected by their children. This rejection, they stated, was due to sensory aspects, such as colour, texture and taste.ConclusionsThe reasons for consumption among school-aged children depend on each type of vegetable and cannot be generalized. The sensory characteristics of the vegetable (mainly colour and flavour) and the habits of consumption in the family environment play a major role in children’s acceptance or rejection of vegetables.

SUMMARY:Five virgin olive oil samples were evaluated by 122 consumers for their color acceptability and expected quality on 9-point structured scales. A description of the attributes expected in the different oils was obtained from the responding consumers by means of a check-all-that-apply questionnaire consisting of a list of 17 possible virgin olive oil attributes. Hierarchical cluster analysis led to the identification of two consumer clusters with distinct behavior. Whereas one consumer cluster attributed higher quality to those oils that were greener in color, which they described as tasty, rich-flavored, strong-tasting, herb-flavored and expensive, consumers in the other cluster assumed that greener olive oils were of a poorer quality, as they described them as strange-tasting, strong-tasting, herb-tasting and defective. Despite the contrasting perception of a virgin olive oil's green color, the respondents, irrespective of cluster, presumed that the virgin olive oil that was the yellowest in color was of poor quality and cheap, also assuming that it had a milder taste than the other oils. KEYWORDS:Color; Consumer; Olive oil; Sensory evaluation RESUMEN: Influencia del color en la calidad del aceite de oliva virgen percibida por consumidores de un país con olivicultura emergente. 122 consumidores evaluaron el color de 5 muestras de aceite de oliva virgen, midiendo su aceptabilidad y la calidad esperada por medio de una escala estructurada de 9 puntos y describiéndolas por medio de preguntas "marque todo lo que corresponde" que consiste en una lista de 17 términos posibles para atributos de aceites de oliva extra vírgenes. Mediante un análisis de conglomerados jerárquico se identificó a dos grupos de consumidores Los consumidores de ambos grupos consideraron que los aceites más amarillos eran de baja calidad, describiéndolos como baratos y de gusto suave. Un grupo de consumidores asignó puntuaciones de calidad alta a todos los aceites con colores verdes, describiéndolos como sabrosos, aromáticos, con gusto fuerte, con sabor a hierba y caros. El otro grupo de consumidores consideró que los aceites de color verde más intenso eran también de baja calidad, describiéndolos como con sabor extraño, con gusto fuerte, con sabor a hierba y defectuosos. Este estudio demuestra que en los países con olivicultura emergente pero con poca tradición de consumo de aceite de oliva, los consumidores aún no tienen preferencias comerciales claras sobre el color de este producto, aunque coinciden en rechazar y considerar como de baja calidad a los aceites de oliva amarillos posiblemente por asociarlos con los aceites de semillas que habitualmente se encuentran en el mercado. PALABRAS CLAVE: Aceite de oliva; Color; Consumidores; Evaluación sensorialCitation/Cómo citar este artículo: Gámbaro A, Raggio L, Ellis AC, Amarillo M. Virgin olive oil color and perceived quality among consumers in emerging olive-growing countries. Grasas Aceites 65 (2): e023. doi: http://dx.doi.

Introducción: en diciembre de 2019 surgieron casos de neumonía de etiología desconocida, que más tarde fueron clasificados como coronavirus del síndrome respiratorio agudo grave de tipo 2 (SARS-CoV-2). El 11 de marzo se declaró la pandemia por la enfermedad respiratoria coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), por lo que se recurrió a medidas de contención de la transmisión, como el distanciamiento social y confinamiento, medidas con conocidos efectos estresores que pueden influir en la conducta alimentaria. Por ello, el objetivo de esta investigación es identificar la conducta alimentaria a través de la restricción dietética, alimentación emocional e ingesta incontrolada, y explorar los factores asociados con estas conductas en adultos durante el confinamiento por COVID-19 en países hispanohablantes. Método: se realizará un estudio transversal descriptivo, mediante un cuestionario en línea autoaplicado, el cual estará integrado por un cuestionario de conducta alimentaria (Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-R18), información sociodemográfica y de salud, y características del estilo de vida antes y durante el confinamiento. Se realizará un análisis descriptivo de las variables, análisis bivariante y modelos de regresión lineal multivariantes para explorar los factores asociados con la conducta alimentaria en el distanciamiento social. Discusión: el confinamiento ha modificado la ingesta de alimentos hacia un patrón alimentario no saludable, reducción de la actividad física e incremento del sedentarismo. Sin embargo, no se ha analizado el papel de esta medida de contención en la conducta alimentaria desde la perspectiva de restricción, emociones e ingesta descontrolada, situación que brinda la oportunidad de estudiar este fenómeno en la población hispana e identificar los posibles factores asociados que puedan sentar las bases de intervenciones durante el confinamiento o posterior a este. Palabras clave: COVID-19, cuarentena, conducta alimentaria, protocolo.

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A sample of 99 habitual consumers sensory-evaluated 2 extra virgin and 2 ordinary olive oils in terms of overall liking and willingness to purchase based on 9-point structured scales and responded to a check-all-that-apply question comprising a list of 18 positive and negative attributes. In the second session, the same consumers evaluated the same oils also based on their respective commercial specifications and sensory profiles previously prepared by a panel of 9 trained tasters. Two consumer clusters with contrasting behavior were identified. Whereas 52% of respondents gave high overall liking scores to the extra virgin oils and scores below commercially acceptable limits to those of ordinary virgin quality, 48% gave low overall liking scores to the extra virgin oils and high overall liking scores to those oils that were defective. Consumers of neither cluster were influenced by the information made available in Session 2. Although a slight majority of consumers described the oils consistently with the sensory profiles available from the tasting panel, an alarmingly large number of respondents described the two extra virgin oils in terms of defective, bad-tasting, strange-tasting, poor quality and rancid, and those oils that were defective in terms of good quality, tasty, sweet, aromatic, mild-flavored, delicious and fresh. These results highlight the need for the implementation of relevant consumer sensitization programs in emerging olive-producing countries like Uruguay, where virgin olive oils of varied quality are locally available.