PhD Student: Marta Appiani (ORCID n. 0000-0002-3838-9600)
Supervisor: Prof. Monica Laureati – DeFENS
Co-tutor: Prof. Ella Pagliarini – DeFENS
Dean: Prof. Diego Mora
Research area: Food Science and Nutrition
Research topic
Exploring the relationships between sensory perception, food preferences and human health
Project Synopsis
Nowadays, a major global need is to find healthy and sustainable alternative food sources with low environmental impact to meet the growing demand for food. However, the development of foods products with new functional ingredients is a real challenge, as a compromise must to be achieved between nutritional and sensory improvements. For this reason, the main goal of this PhD project is the optimization of sensory quality of food formulations added with new plant-based ingredients (algae, minor crops etc.) to meet consumer expectations. In order to achieve this goal, consumer acceptability will be evaluated considering different population targets (children, adults, and elderly). PhD outcomes will contribute to knowledge improvements about perceptual and behavioral factors that lead to acceptance or rejection of new foods and to the creation of new market prospects by delivering innovative products tailored to different consumer targets (including vulnerable groups).
Project keywords
sensory science, consumer science, nutrition
Contacts
DeFENS – Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences
Università degli Studi di Milano
Via Mangiagalli, 25 – 20133, Milano
mail: marta.appiani@unimi.it
website: http://analisisensoriale.unimi.it
Sponsor
Fellowship sponsor: Università degli Studi di Milano
Publications
Publications with impact factor
Rabitti N. S., Appiani M., Marti A., Buratti S., Benedetti S., Chiodaroli G., … & Laureati, M. (2022). Valorization of Common (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.) and Tartary (Fagopyrum tataricum Gaertn.) Buckwheat in Gluten-Free Polenta Samples: Chemical-Physical and Sensory Characterization. Foods, 11(21), 3442. DOI: 3390/foods11213442.
Rabitti N. S., Cattaneo C., Appiani M., Proserpio C., Laureati M. (2022). Describing the Sensory Complexity of Italian Wines: Application of the Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) Method. Foods, 11(16), 2417. DOI: 3390/foods11162417.
Appiani M., Rabitti N. S., Proserpio C., Pagliarini E., Laureati M. (2021). Tartary Buckwheat: A New Plant-Based Ingredient to Enrich Corn-Based Gluten-Free Formulations. Foods, 10(11), 2613. DOI: 3390/foods10112613.
Rabitti, N. S., Appiani, M., Cattaneo, C., Ford, R., & Laureati, M. (2021). Assessment of spatial lingual tactile sensitivity using a gratings orientation test. JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments), (175), e62898. DOI: 3791/62898.
Appiani M., Rabitti N. S., Methven L., Cattaneo C., Laureati M. (2020). Assessment of lingual tactile sensitivity in children and adults: Methodological suitability and challenges. Foods, 9(11), 1594. DOI: 3390/foods9111594.
Oral communications
Rabitti N.S.*, Cattaneo C., Appiani M., Proserpio C., Laureati M. Advantages and pitfalls of the rate-all-that-apply method to characterize large and heterogenous wine samples. 10th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, Turku, Finland, September 13th-16th, 2022.
Appiani M.*, Rabitti N.S., Marti A., Buratti S., Proserpio C., Pagliarini E., Laureati M. Impiego di grano saraceno comune e siberiano per la formulazione di alimenti sostenibili: caratterizzazione chimico-fisica e sensoriale.VII Convegno Nazionale Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali (SISS), Matera, Italy, April 27th-29th, 2022.
Rabitti N.S.*, Appiani M., Proserpio C., Pagliarini E., Laureati M. Effetto dell’informazione sostenibile sulle aspettative dei consumatori e sull’accettabilità di formulazioni senza glutine arricchite con i legumi. VII Convegno Nazionale Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali (SISS), Matera, Italy, April 27th-29th, 2022.
Rabitti N.S.*, Cattaneo C., Appiani M., Proserpio C., Laureati M. Vantaggi e svantaggi dell’applicazione del metodo Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) per caratterizzare un campione di vini ampio ed eterogeneo. VII Convegno Nazionale Società Italiana di Scienze Sensoriali (SISS), Matera, Italy, April 27th-29th, 2022.
Appiani M., Rabitti N.S., Methven L., Ford R., Stolzenbach Wæhrens S., Bredie W., Laureati M.* Assessment of oral tactile sensitivity in adults and children: relationship with texture preference and eating behaviour. A cross-cultural study in UK and Italy. 9th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, December 13th-16th, 2020.
Posters
Rabitti N.S.*, Cattaneo, C., Appiani, M., Proserpio C., Laureati M. Advantages and pitfalls of the rate-all-that-apply method to characterize large and heterogenous wine samples. 10th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, Turku, Finland, September 13th-16th, 2022.
Rabitti N.S.*, Appiani, M., Proserpio C., Pagliarini E., Laureati M. The role of nutritional and sustainability information on consumer’s acceptance of gluten-free formulations fortified with pulses. 10th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, Turku, Finland, September 13th-16th, 2022.
Rabitti N.S.*, Appiani M., Proserpio C., Pagliarini E., Laureati M. Identification of the drivers of acceptance and rejection of new functional and sustainable plant-based ingredients: the case of Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum). 14th Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium, August 9th-12th, 2021.
Appiani M.*, Rabitti N., Methven L., Cattaneo, C. Laureati M. Methodological approaches to measure lingual tactile sensitivity in adults and children: association with food neophobia, food texture preferences and consumption. 9th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, December 13th-16th, 2020.
Others
Sensory Project Manager Junior’s certificate provided by Italian Sensory Science Society (SISS) Florence, March, 2022.
Member of Italian Sensory Science Society (SISS) and of European Sensory Science Society (E3S)
Seminars for students:
“The potential of algae as a new food ingredient”: seminar as part of the course “Bio-based innovation in food industry” (Unit 1 – Sensory and consumer science) for the MSc Biotechnology for the bioeconomy, University of Milan, October 10th, 2022
Updated:
[…] Italian PhD Research on Food Science Technology and Biotechnology (Catania, 18-20 September 2024), Marta Appiani, PhD student in Food Systems (tutor: Monica Laureati), has been awarded with the […]