Cited by 121Sensory Analysis and Statistical MethodsConsumer Attitudes and Food LabelingFood and Agricultural Sciences

Alternative Protein Sources in Western Diets: Food Product Development and Consumer Acceptance of Spirulina-Filled Pasta

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Grahl, Stephanie, Strack, Micha, Mensching, André, Mörlein, Daniel·2020·Food Quality and Preference

Abstract

Spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) is currently being increasingly researched for its usability and suitability in human nutrition. The inclusion of alternative protein sources, such as spirulina, in familiar products is a possible strategy to nudge consumers towards dietary change in Western societies. Filled pasta variants with three levels of spirulina-soy-extrudate in the filling (10%, 30% or 50%) were developed and investigated for their sensory characteristics and consumer liking. Recipe development was based on the concepts of flavor-flavor learning (beet-ginger or tomato) and masking (lemon-basil) to account for the musty and earthy notes of the alga. Consumer tests were conducted in Germany (n = 139), the Netherlands (n = 137) and France (n = 144), and conventional sensory profiling was accomplished with trained panelists (n = 12). Consumers preferred the lemon-basil flavor over tomato and beet-ginger flavored fillings. As expected, liking decreased with increased extrudate content, regardless of the flavor. For all flavors expected liking was higher than liking after product exposure; for the lemon-basil flavor the gap was the smallest. It was shown that low general food neophobia and familiarity with spirulina promoted consumer liking. The sensory profiling revealed that the spirulina-soy-extrudate content affected all sensory attributes identified across all flavors, but for the tomato flavor the most. Overall, this study confirms that it is important to consider differences in consumer motivation as well as the product’s conceptual and intrinsic sensory characteristics in new product development.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.foodqual.2020.103933

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  • Flavor pairing, such as with lemon-basil, enhances consumer preference.

    “flavor pairing, such as with lemon-basil [97], enhances consumer preference.”
  • In filled pasta formulated with Arthrospira sp.-soy extrudate, lemon-basil flavor better masked the earthy and musty notes of microalgae, but acceptance decreased significantly as the ingredient concentration increased.

    “The flavor variations of lemon-basil, tomato, and beetroot-ginger showed that, although the lemon-basil combination better masked the characteristic earthy and musty notes of the microalgae, acceptance decreased significantly as the concentration of the ingredient increased.”

    From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Grahl et al., 2020

  • Consumers exhibited greater receptivity to formulations resembling traditional foods, suggesting familiarity plays a central role in acceptance.

    “Overall, consumers exhibited greater receptivity to formulations resembling traditional foods, suggesting that familiarity plays a central role in the acceptance process.”

    From Microalgae biotechnology and its role in sustainable and healthy food design (2025) · cites this paper as Grahl et al., 2020

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Authors
Grahl, S., Strack, M., Mensching, A., & Mörlein, D.
Affiliations
University of Göttingen (DE)
Corresponding author
Mörlein, Daniel
Venue
Food Quality and Preference
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-09
Volume
84
Pages
103933
ISSN
0950-3293 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W3014048898
Cited by
121
References
62
Citations by year
2026: 14 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 2
FWCI
11.03
Type
journal article
Language
en
Locations
  • Food Quality and Preference (publishedVersion)
  • GoeScholar The Publication Server of the Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Kementerian Pendidikan dan Kebudayaan
  • Ministerium für Wissenschaft, Forschung und Kunst Baden-Württemberg (ZN 3041)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Sensory Analysis and Statistical Methods
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Consumer Attitudes and Food Labeling
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Food and Agricultural Sciences
Keywords
Spirulina, Spirulina platensis, alternative protein sources, sensory properties, consumer acceptance, food neophobia, flavor masking, sensory profiling, new product development, dietary change, Western diet

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