Maria Jesús Pagán-Moreno

Esta guía ofrece un enfoque práctico para el desarrollo de productos transformados a partir de especies acuícolas mediante la metodología design thinking (DT). La acuicultura, como sector estratégico, requiere innovación para generar alimentos sostenibles, nutritivos y fáciles de preparar. El DT constituye una herramienta eficaz para este propósito, estructurada en cinco etapas: empatizar, definir, idear, prototipar y validar, todas centradas en el usuario. La guía describe herramientas clave como mapas de empatía, lluvia de ideas, matrices de priorización, entre otras. El caso práctico ilustra la aplicación de estas herramientas en la creación de snacks y toppings elaborados con langostino, integrando análisis estadístico y cocreación con consumidores. Esta metodología permite reducir riesgos, acelerar la innovación y garantizar productos alineados con las preferencias del mercado. En conclusión, el DT facilita la comprensión del consumidor, la generación de ideas creativas y la evaluación objetiva, impulsando la sostenibilidad y la aceptación en el sector acuícola.

A growing interest in healthy diets has increased demand for fish and seafood, with aquaculture playing a crucial role in meeting this need. Developing new aquaculture products can enhance their commercial value and address consumer demand, but it is unclear which products will be well-received. This study aimed to generate ideas for new products derived from sea bream and prawns, and to gather consumer opinions on these ideas, segmented by gender and age. Two methodologies were used: focus groups and Check-All-That-Apply (CATA). In the focus groups, with two sessions per species and 10 participants each, ideas for aquaculture products were generated and categorized as fresh, dehydrated, fermented, marinated, and canned. The CATA technique, applied to 387 individuals, assessed the acceptability of fresh species, yielding average scores of 6.6 for sea bream and 6.8 for prawns. Sea bream was associated with products like fillets and long-shelf-life loins, while prawns were linked to snacks and toppings. In conclusion, the use of tools like focus groups has shown promising results for developing new aquaculture products. CATA analysis indicated that sea bream should be minimally processed with a long shelf life, and prawns should be processed into dehydrated products. Women preferred traditional products, while men favoured innovative options.

The current market requires new fish-based products. In this context, the use of focus groups is a qualitative technique that enables the generation of ideas for the development of new products. The aim of this study is to create a list of ideas for products based on two species from aquaculture: sea bream and prawn. To achieve this, two sessions were conducted involving 20 individuals from diverse backgrounds. The sessions included consumer surveys, exploration of new products, brainstorming, and categorization of ideas into product categories. As a result, the frequencies of idea mentions were obtained, with the ‘fresh products’ category being the most frequently mentioned for both species. Furthermore, associations between product categories and participant profiles were established using correspondence analysis (CA). In conclusion, for sea bream, consumers showed a preference for fresh product ideas. Conversely, for prawns, canned and dehydrated products were consistently suggested across all participant profiles. This study lays the foundation for innovative aquaculture product development.

In this paper, a mathematical model to describe the spread of an infectious disease on a farm is developed. To analyze the evolution of the infection, the direct transmission from infected individuals and the indirect transmission from the bacteria accumulated in the enclosure are considered. A threshold value of population is obtained to assure the extinction of the disease. When this size of population is exceeded, two control procedures to apply at each time are proposed. For each of them, a maximum number of steps without control and reducing the prevalence of disease is obtained. In addition, a criterion to choose between both procedures is established. Finally, the results are numerically simulated for a hypothetical outbreak on a farm.

Sandwiches are the most common “casual-food” consumed by all age groups in Spain. Due to the importance of visual appearance to promote unplanned or impulse buying, foodservice and hospitality companies focus on improving the visual impression of their food menus to create an expectation that satisfies both sensory and hedonic consumer experiences. To provide a list of attributes about the visual appearance of sandwiches, 25 students were recruited from a university and were invited to participate in two nominal group technique (NGT) sessions. To understand whether a sandwiches’ appearance can influence the expectation of consumers, 259 participants completed an online survey specially designed from the results of the NGT sessions. Data were analyzed using conjoint, internal preference mapping and cluster analysis; the interaction effect by gender was also studied. The conjoint results indicate that visual perception about the filling (vegetal or pork based) plays the most key role overall in consumer expectation. When consumers choose vegetables as the filling, the consumers’ perceived sandwiches as healthier, but the pork filling was perceived as more attractive and satiating. Interaction effect by gender was observed in filling when females perceived pork filling as less healthy than vegetable. By acceptance, consumers were segmented into three groups. The first cluster (n = 80) selected the pork filling. The smaller group (cluster 3, n = 36) prioritized the vegetal filling, and the most numerous cluster 2 (n = 140) liked sandwiches with multigrain bread. These results may help companies to build tailor-made marketing strategies to satisfy consumer segments.

The aim of this research was to evaluate the nutritional and physico-chemical properties of six different vegetable fibers and explore the possibility of using them as a thickener or gelling agent in food. To determine the technological, nutritional and physical parameters, the following analyses were carried out: water-holding capacity, water retention capacity, swelling, fat absorption capacity, solubility, particle size, moisture, hygroscopicity, pH, water activity, bulk density, porosity, antioxidant activity, phenolic compounds and mineral content. Gels were prepared at concentrations from 4% to 7% at 5 °C and analyzed at 25 °C before and after treatment at 65 °C for 20 min. A back extrusion test, texture profile analysis and rheology were performed and the pH value, water content and color were analyzed. As a result, all the samples generally showed significant differences in all the tested parameters. Hydration properties were different in all the tested samples, but the high values found for chia flour and citrus fiber are highlighted in functional terms. Moreover, chia flour was a source of minerals with high Fe, Mn and Cu contents. In gels, significant differences were found in the textural and rheological properties among the samples, and also due to the heat treatment used (65 °C, 20 min). As a result, chia flour, citrus, potato and pea fibers showed more appropriate characteristics for thickening. Moreover, potato fiber at high concentrations and both combinations of fibers (pea, cane sugar and bamboo fiber and bamboo, psyllium and citric fiber) were more suitable for gelling agents to be used in food products.

Durante el curso (2019-20) ha sido imposible impartir presencialmente algunas de las prácticas de laboratorio previstas, debido a la crisis sanitaria del COVID-19 (marzo-junio de 2020). Como alternativa, el alumnado de prácticas ha realizado en casa, con apoyo del profesor, las actividades cuya realización se estimó como imprescindible para completar la evaluación. Entre ellas, la presentación de un proyecto práctico por screencast, seguido de la visualización por parte de los alumnos y su evaluación por pares. Esta innovación se enmarca en el contexto de la asignatura Nutrición y Dietética Industrial, de 4º curso del Grado de Ingeniería Agronómica (especialidad de Industrias Alimentarias). Las calificaciones obtenidas comparadas con cursos anteriores, así como la opinión de los estudiantes medida mediante encuestas, permite saber si es posible, o incluso recomendable, la realización de estas actividades utilizando estas plataformas. Por último, la impresión del profesor acerca de la actitud de los estudiantes respecto este sistema de evaluación, permitirá también sacar conclusiones acerca de la aplicabilidad de estas metodologías.

In recent years, the consumption of snacks has increased substantially. Analysis of consumption trends of this kind of food through the use of surveys would allow matching of the supply to the demand. The objective of the present work was to study snacks and meat snacks consumption, and to analyze which consumers’ preferences of these products were considered as healthy. An online survey was conducted with 234 consumers where they were asked about which type of snacks they consumed, frequency of consumption, the main characteristics that they look for in these types of foods, and what they consider a healthy snack should have. The results showed that the most important motivations for acquisition and consumption of snacks were those related to convenience, while for meat snacks they were those related to acceptability, above convenience and sociability. The most consumed snacks were, in descending order: fruits, dairy, nuts/seeds, coffee, cookies, and meat snacks. More than 50% of the respondents consumed them from once a day to two to three times a week. As for meat snacks, the most consumed were dehydrated meats for most of those surveyed. For consumers, a healthy meat snack should be rich in protein and low in salt.

The use of flours derived from Andean products could be an alternative flour. Molecules with a potential beneficial effect on human health have been reported in maca (Lepidium meyenii) (dietary fibre, Mg, Ca, K, functional polysaccharides, etc.) and amaranth (Amaranthus caudatus) (squalene, linoleic acid, P, Ca, K, Mg, dietary fibre, etc.). However, from an industrial point of view, these new ingredients must be characterized in their techno-functional properties. The objective of this work was to analyze the techno-functional parameters of the amaranth and maca flours (NW) and whole (W) flours, in terms of water holding capacity (WHC, g/g), oil holding capacity (OHC, g/g), swelling capacity (SC, mL/g), foaming capacity (FC, %) and emulsifying capacity (EC, mL). The particle size of flours was also analyzed. The results indicated that the highest values for WHC were obtained in maca flour (NW) with 2.45 g of retained water/g of sample. The highest values of OHC were observed for NW flours (around 1.02 g of absorbed oil/g of sample). Meanwhile, for the variables FC and EC, the highest values were obtained for amaranth (NW) with 16.67% and amaranth (W) with 139.44 mL, respectively. Therefore, the results obtained allow us to consider the incorporation of these types of flours to different food products, knowing their effect on WHC, OHC, EC, and pH, and therefore being able to modify the processes concerning the traditional ones. This is especially interesting in the case of the meat products elaboration process in which these parameters could be critical, with the addition of these type of flours.