Some of the key components that contribute to the acceptance of high-quality fresh mangoes by consumers are its flavour, odour, texture and chemical constituents that depend mainly on level of maturity. In the European market, the demand for tree-ripened fruit has increased in recent decades. Nevertheless, the qualitative response and the marketable characteristics of tree-ripened mango fruit grown in the Mediterranean area are not yet studied. Tree-ripened fruits of cv Keitt, Glenn, Osteen, Maya, Kensington Pride and Tommy Atkins were submitted to analytical (fruit weight, transversal diameter, longitudinal diameter, flesh firmness, total soluble solid content, titratable acidity, seed weight, peel weight, percentage of flesh and fibre, ash content, fat content, carbohydrate content, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Cu, Mn and Zn contents, ascorbic acid and vitamin A) and sensory evaluations. Significant differences were observed for sensory and physicochemical characteristics in a cultivar-dependent manner. The mango Keitt, in addition to its interesting physicochemical traits, content of protein and vitamin, has a higher sensory appeal. Glenn fruit showed more suitable weight, flesh firmness, soluble solids, vitamin content, total antioxidant activity and total polyphenolics content; Maya had the lowest titratable acidity and the highest soluble solid content, whereas Tommy Atkins revealed preferable ground colour, total antioxidant activity, and vitamin B2 and vitamin C contents. Tree-ripened fruits grown in the Mediterranean climate show interesting peculiarities in regard to fresh market requirements. The analytical-sensory approach established a qualitative characterization of the six observed cultivars.

The innate liking of fats may be due to one or more orosensory, post-ingestive, and metabolic signals; however, individuals differ in their preference for fat in meat. One of the variables that mainly impacts eating behaviors and thus should be carefully analyzed is sex/gender, and while sex (female/male, in a binary approximation) refers only to biological characteristics, gender (woman/man, in a binary approximation) refers to cultural attitudes and behavior. This study aimed at exploring the role of gender, age, taste responsiveness (measured as sensitivity to the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP)), personality traits, attitudes, and liking of and familiarity with meat on the choice of fat-rich meat products in 1208 women and men aged 18–66. Both a between- and a within-gender approach were adopted. Results showed that gender had a major impact on liking of and familiarity with meat and choice for fat-rich meat compared to age. A lower liking meat in general was found in women, independently of fat content. Women also reported a lower familiarity than men with fatty meat and cold meat and a lower choice of fat-rich meat. Genders differed in the influence of personality and attitudes about fat-rich meat choice. In both genders, the choice of meat higher in fat was associated with liking cold and fatty meat and with age and negatively with liking low-fat meat. Women were in general more interested in health than men, and this may explain the main difference in the choice of fat-rich meat between genders. However, when we look at each gender separately, general health interest was significantly correlated with a lower choice of fat-rich meat only in men. In addition, in men food neophobia was negatively correlated with choice of fat-rich meat. In women, the emotional dimension was found to play an important role, with sensitivity to disgust that was negatively associated with fat-rich meat choice and emotional eating that was positively associated with it. Thanks to the large sample and the gender-sensitive approach adopted, this study showed that different factors affect choice of fat-rich meat by gender, in addition to liking of and familiarity with fat-rich and cold meat and age. This suggests that strategies personalized by gender to reinforce or activate barriers to this type of consumption may be more effective at reducing fat intake, promoting the consumption of meat lower in fat.

In this work, both analytical and sensory determinations were carried out to evaluate the quality of yellow (‘Summerset‘, ‘Tardiva 2000‘, ‘Fairtime’, ‘Guglielmina’) and white flesh (‘Daniela’) late-ripening peach and nectarine (‘California’ and ‘Fairlane’) cultivars. Analytical measurements included weight, diameter, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, pH, and peel color. To describe and quantify the peach and nectarine sensory profile, a panel of 10 judges generated 15 descriptors. According to univariate analysis of fruit quality attributes, ‘Fairtime’, ‘Summerset, ‘Daniela’, and ‘California’ produced large and attractive fruits with an extensive red peel color. On the other hand, ‘Guglielmina’, ‘Daniela’, ‘Tardiva 2000’, and ‘Fairlane’ produced superior quality fruit in terms of soluble solids, titratable acidity, sweetness, and flavor. The white flesh peach ‘Daniela’ produced fruits with the best balance between external and internal quality. Cluster analysis on standardized component coordinates from biplot analysis allowed for the identification of two main groups. One group included ‘Daniela’, ‘Guglielmin’, ‘Tardiva 2000’, and ‘Fairlane’, along with attributes that are more indicative of ripe fruit such as soluble solids, sweetness, sugar/acid, juiciness, ground color index, peel color uniformity, flesh color intensity, mealiness, peach odor and flavor, and flower odor and flavor. The other group included ‘Summerset’, ‘Fairtime’, and ‘California’ along with weight, diameter, consistency, flesh firmness, percentage of cover color, bitterness, titratable acidity, sour odor and flavor, and grassy odor and flavor. The dual approach adopted in this study indicates that cultivars with large and attractive fruits are often lacking real eating quality. This poses serious doubts on the real value of exterior appearance for recognizing high-quality peaches and nectarines.

While admitting that neophobia and sociocultural factors negatively affect consumers’ propensity to consume insect-based foods, other aspects related to food values that consumers attach to these foods could have an influence on consuming decision. In order to identify the motivations and determinants that influence the propensity to consume insects and then to explore the drivers behind consumers’ willingness to consume insect-based foods, the data collected through the questionnaire were processed. After a descriptive analysis of the data, ANOVA was performed. Moreover, Student’s t test and pairwise correlation indices were estimated in order to determine statistically significant correlation. Our findings show that information about edible insects brought about an increase in food neophobia and appearance affected the expected liking levels. In addition, we have shown that respondents’ propensity to consume insect-based foods also depends on consumers’ subjective beliefs about food values such as healthiness, naturalness and environmental impact. We also found that respondents’ beliefs about food values associated with insect-based foods do not depend on the degree of information provided but are probably due to pre-existing prejudices about them.

Two pomegranate cultivars, Mollar de Elche, native to Spain, and Wonderful, the most widely cultivated pomegranate variety in the world, were studied in a commercial orchard in Sicily, and their phenological behavior was compared. During the development of the fruit, their dimensional growth was monitored, and after harvest, physicochemical and sensory analyses were carried out to highlight the differences between fruit of the two cultivars. Results showed that Mollar de Elche fruit require less time from flowering to fruit maturity, resulting in an earlier harvest, which was due also to a higher relative growth rate of the fruit’s diameters. On the other hand, physicochemical analyses confirmed that Wonderful is the variety that is most appealing for fresh produce consumers due to its intense coloring. However, Mollar de Elche showed economically desirable characteristics such as a good softness of the seed. Moreover, sensory analysis showed that fruit of the cv. Mollar de Elche was found to have a sweeter taste of both arils and juice.