Physicochemical properties and sensory evaluation of high energy cereal bar and its consumer acceptability

This research aims to study the physicochemical and sensory evaluation of high energy cereal bars (HCB) and their consumer acceptability using logistic regression. The HCB was prepared and formulated under using a mixture design (d-optimal) experiment with three centerpoints, namely, cereals (60-66%) fruits (14-20%), and sweeteners (20-26%). The regression analysis indicated that the three main ingredients affected physicochemical properties (color value, hardness, and stickiness), chemical properties (a_w, total carbohydrate, gross energy, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, and total carotenoid), and sensory properties. The optimum content of cereals, fruits, and sweeteners for HCB was found to be 60.45%, 19.55%, and 20%. This indicates that puffed rice, roasted nuts, cereal seed, mixed fruits, corn syrup, and honey can provide high consumer product acceptance and purchase intention for a cereal bar and can be used to develop a high-energy cereal bar product desirable for the consumer market.