From Consumer Expectations to Sensory Approval: A Multi-Step Approach to Developing Calcium-Fortified Apple Snacks

Fortification can improve the nutritional quality of food. However, complex and expensive processes, as well as ambiguous consumer perceptions, present challenges to the development of feasible products. Therefore, this study developed processes to produce calcium-fortified apple snacks based on consumer perspectives in three steps. Firstly, consumer expectations about fortified fruit snacks were assessed. Although the consumers expressed a desire for nutritious, healthy, and crispy snacks, they were not willing to pay more for them. Consequently, in the second step, simple and low-cost processing strategies were developed, combining immersion, perforations, and vacuum (using calcium chloride solutions up to 4% and processing times up to 40 min), followed by drying. The apple snacks contained up to 24 times the calcium content, resulting in snacks classified as "high in calcium." Microstructural analysis suggested intercellular calcium deposition. Both calcium incorporation and processing techniques affected the snacks' texture. The calcium pectate formation likely contributed to changing the snacks' texture. The treatments did not impact the drying processing time. Finally, in the sensorial evaluation, the consumers preferred snacks produced using immersion and perforation treatments with 4% calcium and 40 min of processing. These treatments stood out for producing calcium-fortified apple snacks with good sensorial acceptability and for being simple and potentially cost-effective to implement.