Desenvolvimento tecnológico e caracterização de barras alimentícias a base de alimentos amazônicos

Abstract

The consumption of food bars has become very common due to their practicality and convenience, being used as a quick and healthy snack option as they have high nutritional value added to their composition. The objective of this study was to develop food bars formulated with Amazonian ingredients, in addition to analyzing their sensory attributes, purchase intention and the nutritional composition of the formulations. The ingredients used in the bar formulations were stingless bee honey, samburá, tapioca flour, Amazon nuts and silver bananas. Three different formulations (A, B and C) of the product were developed, varying the proportions of the ingredients. These formulations were subjected to affective tests and evaluation of purchase intention. Moisture, total fiber, total carbohydrates, available carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, ash and caloric value were determined, in accordance with official analytical standards for food analysis. Formulation C received the lowest scores in all attributes, while formulation A received the highest scores. Regarding purchase intention, 43% of evaluators would certainly buy formulation A, while the minority (24%) would buy formulation C. Formulation C presented a better nutritional composition, and the predominant nutrients in all formulations were total carbohydrates, followed by humidity. It is concluded that formulation A was the best accepted by consumers although formulation C had the highest concentrations of nutrients.