–by Ashley Harguth
Eye-tracking technology
The National Pork Board has conducted eye-tracking research to determine what consumers look at while buying meat and for how long. The research also identified which images and messages resonate best with shoppers.
The results show that images of whole cuts of pork attract consumers’ attention quickly. Consumers also prefer signs that don’t include people, as it distracts them from focusing on the meat image. Based on the approximately three seconds of attention that signs get in grocery stores, the meat image may never be looked at when people are included in the photograph. Additionally, clear call-to-action taglines fared better than brand taglines in terms of participant preference.
meatingplace.com, July 2013
Making ice cream more nutritious
Meat industry leftovers can contain animal proteins and lipids that have, until now, been underutilized. Turning the lipids into biodiesel has proven too expensive and currently only 22 percent of the proteins are converted into feed. A process that uses enzymes to digest food left-overs and convert them into proteins known as hydrolyzates is being further looking into in Europe. This technology is being tested in a Belgian food company. They are hoping to enhance the nutritional quality of those protein hydrolyszates, already sold in dietary, health and sports food supplements. One of the project partners, Mobitek-M, which is a Russian company that specializes in production of protein-enriched food stuffs, is also planning on including these products in ice cream.
Sciencedaily.com, May 2013
Follow the way with soy-based traffic paint
Next time you see fresh, white traffic stripes on the road, it might be BECKOSOL Traffic Paint, made with soy oil. Researchers recently developed this water-based paint that offers ease of application, high gloss, excellent flow and leveling, and durability similar to traditional traffic coatings.
United Soybean Board, May 2013
Stopping wheat loss
A common problem in wheat is preharvest sprouting (PHS) and researchers at Kansas State University and the USDA-ARS are working to combat that problem. The researchers found and cloned a gene in wheat that prevents the plant from sprouting too early.
The finding will to be most beneficial to white wheat production, which loses $1 billion annually to preharvest sprouting.
Soyatech.com, August 2013
