Maria Dermiki

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Verified

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• PhD
• Lecturer at Atlantic Technological University

The demand for protein‐fortified products has increased due to several factors, with a major one being the growing population of older adults worldwide. The aim of this study was to optimize the formulation of protein‐fortified tomato soup by adding milk protein concentrate (MPC) and pea protein isolate (PPI) individually or in combination. The com...

Significant amounts of fruit and vegetables are lost or wasted along their supply chain. A possible way to achieve reduction of food waste is to reuse the lost materials as upcycled ingredients. The aim of this study was to explore what factors influence the willingness of students from two countries with different culinary traditions to consume fo...

In the context of globalization, cross-cultural studies have become increasingly important for understanding differences in consumer acceptance of various foods. This study examines and compares the acceptance of insect-based foods between consumers in Greece and Ireland, two EU countries where insect-based foods are not widely available. An online...

Protein is a required macronutrient for maintenance of muscle mass. Current guidelines recommend daily intake of 0.8 g of dietary protein per kilogram body weight (kg bw), regardless of age ⁽¹⁾ . However, factors such as age and physiological changes may increase this requirement to 1.5g/ kg bw/day for older adults with sarcopenia ⁽²⁾ . Therefore,...

While insect-based foods could contribute towards sustainable protein consumption and production, their successful adoption relies largely on consumer acceptance. This case study aims to explore factors affecting acceptance and to identify the insect-based foods that participants would like to be developed and introduced to the market. Three focus...

The Irish Food Vision 2030 (IFV 2030) seeks to restructure Ireland’s agricultural food system to deliver long-term social, economic, and environmental sustainability in keeping with its commitment to the European Green Deal and the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This study investigates the effectiveness of the IFV 2030 in delivering on this co...

Ageing affects food choices, food-related life and the nutritional status of older people. The latter may be addressed through the targeted development of specific food products. For example, the development of protein-fortified foods could help older adults increase their protein consumption, thus contributing to the prevention of age-related dise...

Acceptance of insect-containing foods remains low among European consumers. This study aims to explore the factors affecting willingness to consume insects among students in two European countries with different culinary traditions, namely France and Ireland. An online survey was developed and distributed in both countries, with 183 participants (F...

Food waste is a global issue, with the fruit and vegetable sector accounting for higher losses compared with other sectors. The aim of this study was to gain an understanding into how industry stakeholders in Ireland manage surplus fruit and vegetable material remaining after their main processing. An explanatory sequential mixed methods approach w...

Encouraging sustainable dietary practices is a positive step towards alleviating the negative impact of increasing food waste. This study explores consumers’ perceptions of sustainable diets and factors influencing their adoption of sustainable practices, such as circular eating. Fifteen consumers in Ireland aged 18–65+ years were recruited for a q...

The potential of insect-based feed (IBF) as a sustainable alternative to conventional animal feed is widely reported, yet there is extremely limited information on its acceptance in Ireland, a country with a strong farming background. Therefore, this study aims to provide baseline data on factors affecting acceptance of IBF amongst a segment of con...

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. Developing therapeutics and prophylactics for CVD has been challenging, while a healthy diet and lifestyle are known to be critical for the prevention of CVD by reducing various associated risk factors. Dairy products were previously perceived to be detrimental to cardiovascula...

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. An unhealthy diet and lifestyle are well-known risk factors for the development of CVD, however, these factors are modifiable. Epidemiological evidence has shown that the regular consumption of fish is associated with the prevention of CVD and related diseases. However, particu...

This study aimed to explore the development of a high protein tomato soup to address the nutritional needs of older adults who require higher levels of protein compared to the general population. The specific objective of this study was to explore how the addition of a dairy protein (Milk Protein Concentrate-MPC), a plant-based protein (Pea Protein...

This study determined the physicochemical properties (apparent viscosity (ηapp), turbidity (A550nm), particle size and molecular mass distribution) of hydrolysates generated from whey protein concentrate (WPC), milk protein concentrate (MPC) and sodium caseinate (NaCN), following incubation with Debitrase HYW20™ and Prolyve™ at 50 °C, pH 7.0 for 1...

Previous research has shown that the addition of equi-intense concentrations of taste compounds leads to mixture suppression, with sweetness being the least suppressed taste while being the strongest suppressor of the other taste stimuli. However, perceived intensity of umami (savoury taste) within complex mixtures is less defined. Since maintainin...

The impact of Tween20 surfactant, applied in native form or as colloidal gas aphrons (CGAs), on the extractability/purification enhancement of antioxidant compounds from grape skins (GS), compared to conventional solid-liquid extraction (SLE), was evaluated. Three strategies were developed (S1: partial ethanol replacement during SLE with aqueous Tw...

The present study investigates the use of Colloidal Gas Aphrons (CGA), which are surfactant stabilised microbubbles, to separate a mixture of dyes, in a batch mode and continuous mode. For this reason, CGA are applied in a flotation column and also for the first time here, in combination with countercurrent chromatography (CCC). The latter is used...

Brewers’ spent grain (BSG) is the major co-product of the brewing industry having a high content of protein and fibre. Enzymatic modification improves the properties of different ingredients when they are incorporated into confectionary products. This study characterised the rheological, textural and sensory properties of unmodified BSG (BSGA) and...

The world population is increasing along with the need for food. However, the way in which we grow and consume food has environmental, economic, and social implications, which are the pillars upon which the concept of sustainability is built. Third-level students will become the generation that will be working and starting families soon, therefore...

Entomophagy is being explored as a sustainable food source in Western countries to combat the ever-increasing effects of climate change. Studies conducted in various European countries determine the factors affecting willingness to consume insects. The current study aims to gain the first insight on this topic in Ireland, a country with a long farm...

Fish contains bioactive polar lipids (PL) and is mainly consumed cooked. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensory characteristics of sous-vide cooked salmon and the in vitro cardio-protective properties of its PL. PL were extracted from brined and un-brined sous-vide preparations in 52°C, 65°C, and 80°C, while their antithrombotic cardio-p...

The world population nowadays is ageing, which results in a shift towards higher numbers of people older than 65 years⁽¹⁾. This increasing lifespan is not always matched with increased years spent in good health. Malnutrition, and particularly decreased protein intake is one of the leading causes of frailty among older adults(Reference Pedersen A a...

Environmental, ethical and health issues linked with the consumption of meat have resulted in the investigation of proteins from sustainable sources. The aim of the current study was to investigate which factors affect the acceptability of these proteins. An online questionnaire was developed and completed by 146 students and staff of an Institute...

Gelation temperatures (Tgs), apparent viscosities (ηapp), turbidities and chromatography profiles of whey protein concentrate (WPC) and corresponding hydrolysates (WPHs) generated with Alcalase® and Neutrase® at different temperatures and total solids (TS) were compared. WPC incubated with Alcalase at 50 °C exhibited the highest rate and degree of...

Background Food is an important part of older people’s life contributing to their physiological and mental well-being and to their satisfaction with life. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to the satisfaction with food-related life of Irish community-dwelling adults older than 55 years. Methods A mixed methods ap...

Given that fermented dairy products exhibit high bioactivities against cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the anti-thrombotic properties, fatty acid profiles and sensory properties of cow, goat and ewe derived Greek yogurts have been assessed and compared. The total lipids (TL), total polar lipids (TPL), total neutral lipids (TNL) were obtained and th...

This chapter describes the application of a flotation method based on the formation of colloidal gas aphrons (CGA), which are surfactant-based microbubbles, to the recovery of value-added food products from fermentation broths and waste streams of food and agricultural industries. Their main properties are described and contrasted with those of con...

Aqueous extracts of dried shiitake mushrooms (Lentinus edodes) were prepared as taste and flavour enhancers for meat formulations. Effects of time and temperature on the chemical and sensory properties of the extracts were examined. Extracts prepared at 70°C had significantly higher concentrations (p<0.001) of the savoury tasting 5'-ribonucleotides...

Umami taste in foods is elicited predominantly by the presence of glutamic acid and 5′-ribonucleotides, which act synergistically. This study aimed to use natural ingredients to maximise umami taste of a meat formulation and determine effects on liking of older consumers. Cooked meat products with added natural ingredients (yeast extract, mycoscent...

Sensory changes and preservation with age: Hope for the undernourished - Volume 71 Issue OCE2 - C. Withers*, M. Dermiki, M. A. Gosney, R. Crabtree, O. B. Kennedy, L. Methven

Diminished sensory ability, and specifically smell and taste deterioration caused by ageing or due to medication and illness, is one common factor which contributes to malnutrition within older adults (1) . However, it has been shown from previous studies that flavour enhancement of food using monosodium glutamate and/or added flavours resulted in...

Umami has been recognised for over a century and is now known as the fifth taste, alongside, salty, sweet, sour and bitter (1) . Monosodium glutamate (MSG), a glutamate salt, is the most common source of umami and is known to increase palatability of foods through flavour enhancement (2,3) , increase food intake (4) , improve immunity and physical...

In a previous study we have demonstrated that gallic acid (GA) in its anionic form can be recovered from aqueous solutions using colloidal gas aphrons (CGA) generated from the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The aim of the present work is to get a better understanding of the separation mechanism in order to determine the...

The aim of this study is to investigate the separation of astaxanthin from the cells of Phaffia rhodozyma using colloidal gas aphrons (CGA), which are surfactant stabilized microbubbles, in a flotation column. It was reported in previous studies that optimum recoveries are achieved at conditions that favor electrostatic interactions. Therefore, in...

The aim of this study is to investigate the mechanism responsible for the recovery of astaxanthin using Colloidal Gas Aphrons (CGA), which are surfactant stabilised microbubbles. The latter were produced using different surfactant solutions (Cetyl Trimethyl Ammonium Bromide (CTAB)-cationic, Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate (SDS)-anionic, TWEEN 60-non-ionic a...

The present work evaluated the effect of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on quality characteristics and shelf-life extension of the whey cheese “Myzithra Kalathaki” using microbiological, chemical and sensory analyses. Myzithra cheese was packaged in four different atmospheres: vacuum, 20% CO2/80% N2 (M1), 40% CO2/60% N2 (M2) and 60% CO2/40% N2...

BACKGROUND: There is an increasing interest in obtaining natural products with bioactive properties, using fermentation technology. However, the downstream processing consisting of multiple steps can be complicated, leading to increase in the final cost of the product. Therefore there is a need for integrated, cost-effective and scalable separation...

In previous studies we demonstrated that gallic acid (GA) in its anionic form (neutral pH conditions) can be recovered from aqueous solutions using colloidal gas aphrons (CGA) generated from the cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium-bromide (CTAB). Preliminary experiments with grape marc extracts confirmed the potential application of this sep...