Orange cultivars identification: electronic tongue versus conventional physicochemical methods Valéria Serra, Ana C. A. Veloso, António M. Peres, Marta H. F. Henriques, Ana S. Fajardo European Food Research and Technology, 2026 Accurate identification and differentiation of orange cultivars are essential for food quality control, market segmentation and product authentication. Conventional approaches rely on multiple physicochemical determinations and sensory evaluation, resulting in labor-intensive, reagent-consuming analytical workflows. In this study, a lab-made potentiometric electronic tongue (E-tongue) is evaluated as a rapid and reagent-free alternative for discriminating freshly squeezed orange juices according to cultivar. Five commercially relevant orange cultivars (Baía, Dalmau, Lane Late, Navelate and Salustiana) were characterized using fruit morphological descriptors, juice physicochemical parameters (soluble solids: 9.1–12.9 °Brix, titratable acidity: 0.7–0.8 g citric acid·100 g -1 , total solids: up to 13.1%) and consumer sensory evaluation, and compared with direct potentiometric fingerprints acquired without reagents, solvents or sample pretreatment. Multivariate analysis showed that a linear discriminant model based on nine selected morphological and physicochemical variables, selected by the simulated annealing algorithm, achieved an average correct classification of 89% under repeated 4-fold cross-validation, whereas the E-tongue-based model, relying on ten selected potentiometric sensors, provided improved robustness with an average sensitivity of 94% under the same validation scheme. The potentiometric analysis required a single 5 min measurement per sample and generated negligible waste. These findings demonstrate that potentiometric fingerprinting can serve as an effective alternative or complementary approach to conventional multi-parameter analytical workflows for orange cultivar identification, providing robust discriminatory capability while substantially reducing analytical complexity, analysis time, and resource consumption. The proposed approach represents a practical tool for food quality assessment and routine screening applications where rapid and reproducible cultivar discrimination is required.
Low Fat Yoghurts Produced with Different Protein Levels and Alternative Natural Sweeteners Lara Campos, Paulina Tuma, Tânia Silva, David Gomes, Carlos Dias Pereira, et al. Foods, 2024 The food industry is looking for substitutes for sucrose in food items due to the excessive consumption of products with added sugar and the demand for healthier products. Alternative natural sweeteners can help achieve this goal. Different types of low-fat yoghurts (1% fat), with low-protein and high-protein levels (3% and 4.5–6.5% protein, respectively), were produced using alternative natural sweeteners. The low-protein yoghurts were made with stevia (0.03% w/w) or agave syrup (4.5% w/w). The high-protein yoghurts were made with stevia (0.04% w/w), xylitol (6% w/w) or honey (6% w/w). Sucrose (6% w/w) was used as a control in both trials. pH and titratable acidity, CIEL*a*b* color parameters, syneresis index, rheology and the texture profile of the low-fat yoghurts were evaluated over refrigerated storage. All products underwent sensory evaluation by an untrained panel. The high-protein yoghurts were found to be more acidic (>1% as lactic acid), had a lower syneresis index (between 2.1 and 16.2%) and a better consistency (stronger gel structure) than the low-protein yoghurts. In terms of rheological parameters, stevia-sweetened yoghurts scored higher than the other sweetened yoghurts, showing a better gel structure. The different sweeteners tested did not significantly affect the sensory properties of the yoghurts, although the high-protein yoghurts scored higher for most of the attributes evaluated. Overall, consumers preferred stevia-sweetened yoghurts to yoghurts sweetened with sucrose or agave for the low-protein yoghurts. Of the tested formulations, those containing high protein with the alternative natural sweetener xylitol received higher scores in all attributes. These results reveal the potential of the tested natural sweeteners as sucrose substitutes, while contributing to improving the nutritional value of yoghurts.
Pterospartum tridentatum Liqueur Using Spirits Aged with Almond Shells: Chemical Characterization and Phenolic Profile Cátia Garcia, Maria Inês Dias, Marta H. F. Henriques, Lillian Barros, Fernando Ramos Molecules, 2023 With great cultural significance, spirits and distillate beverages constitute an important niche market in Europe. The development of new food products, particularly for the functionalization of these beverages, is increasing exponentially. The present work aimed to develop a new wine spirit beverage aged with almond shells and flowers of P. tridentatum for further characterization of bioactive and phenolic compounds, coupled with a sensorial study to evaluate the acceptance of this new product by the market. Twenty-one phenolic compounds were identified, mainly isoflavonoids and O- and C-glycosylated flavonoids, especially in P. tridentatum flowers, indicating that it is a highly aromatizing agent. The developed liqueur and wine spirits (almonds and flowers) showed distinct physicochemical properties, with the last two samples showing greater appreciation and purchase intention by consumers due to their sweetness and smoothness. The most promising results were found for the carqueja flower, which should be further investigated in an industrial context to contribute to its valorization in its regions of origin, such as Beira Interior and Trás-os-Montes (Portugal).
