Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol.

36 (2003) 295–302

Incorporation of bovine dry blood plasma into biscuit flour for the
production of pasta
A.M. Yousif a,*,1, P. Cranstonb, H.C. Deetha
a
School of Land and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia
b
Fort Dodge Australia Pty. Ltd., 11 Moors Road, Glenorie, NSW 2157, Australia
Received 11 October 2001; accepted 25 February 2002

Abstract

Spray-dried blood plasma (DBP) (10.9 g/100 g [w/w] nitrogen) was added to medium-protein biscuit flour (1.4 g/100 g N) during
pasta manufacture. High-protein durum semolina (2.0 g/100 g N) was used to produce the control pasta. Sensory data indicated that
the addition of DBP produced pasta with significantly better colour intensity and acceptability, aroma intensity, flavour intensity,
textural strength, texture acceptability, aftertaste intensity, aftertaste acceptability, and overall acceptability. The DBP/biscuit flour
formulation that gave the optimum balance between pasta protein content and organoleptic acceptability contained 2.2 g/100 g
DBP. A higher content of DBP resulted in increased protein levels, but these pasta formulations were less acceptable
organoleptically.
r 2002 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Texture; Colour; Sensory evaluation; Pasta

1. Introduction equivalent to about 34,000 tonnes of dried product

Pasta is a popular, inexpensive food in many parts of
the world. In the common dried form, it is shelf-stable
with a high degree of market acceptance. The best pasta
products are generally produced from durum semolina.
Durum wheat is preferred over other classes of wheat
for pasta products because of its excellent rheological
properties, superior colour, cooking quality and con-
sumer acceptance (Dexter & Matson, 1979).
The quantity of durum produced in Australia each
year is insufficient to meet demand. Therefore, it must
be either imported or replaced with a lower-grade flour.
Biscuit flour, which has a lower protein level, is usually
available in large quantities at cheaper prices than
durum. The development of a suitable formula for the
production of pasta products manufactured from biscuit
flour fortified with another protein source may be a
practical alternative to the use of durum.
In Australia, about 120 million litres of blood are
produced from the slaughter of cattle per annum. This is
*Corresponding author. Fax: +61-7-460-1171.
E-mail address: ay@uqg.uq.edu.au (A.M. Yousif).
1
Experimental work was performed at the University of New South
Wales.
containing 10% (w/w) moisture (Vickery, 1968). Only a
small amount of this bovine blood is used for human
consumption. Most is used for a range of products such
as glue, fertiliser or animal feed. However, blood and
extracts of blood represent a significant potential source
of protein, amino acids and vitamins for human
consumption, but has not been widely used for this
purpose (Olson, 1970; Frentz, & Perron, 1971).
Spray-dried blood plasma (DBP) is commercially
available in food-grade form and has been incorporated
into products such as bread, cakes, soups, mayonnaise,
sausages, and burgers to enhance their protein content
and organoleptic qualities (Lee, Johnson, Love, &
Johnson, 1991). The aim of this project was to investigate
the feasibility of adding DBP to biscuit flour to produce a
pasta with good nutritional and sensory characteristics.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Raw materials
Spray-dried bovine blood plasma (DBP) (10.9 g/100 g
nitrogen, dry weight basis) was imported from the

0023-6438/03/$30.00 r 2002 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0023-6438(02)00215-3
296 A.M. Yousif et al. / Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol. 36 (2003) 295–302
American Meat Protein Corporation, Ames, IA, USA.
High-protein durum semolina (2.0 g/100 g nitrogen, dry
weight basis) from George Weston Flour Mills, Sydney,
was used to prepare control samples of pasta. Medium-
protein biscuit flour (1.4 g/100 g nitrogen, dry weight
basis) from George Weston Flour Mills, Sydney,
fortified with DBP, was used to make experimental
batches of pasta.
2.2. Pasta production
The pasta was prepared by the method of D’egidio,
Mariani, Nardi, Novaro, and Cubadda (1990). The
formulations of all pasta produced and pasta ingredients
are shown in Table 1. In general, 800 g of water was
added slowly to 2.5 kg of flour and powdered bovine
blood plasma, and blended in an Eberhardt spiral mixer.
A mixing time of 320 s was used for each formulation
at the maximum mixer speed. The mixture was
immediately extruded through a La Parmigiana Fidenza
extruder that continuously mixed as it extruded the
pasta through a 1.7 mm diameter die. The pasta strands
were elevated on poles and air-dried at room tempera-
ture (201C) for 48 h until an average moisture level of
10.5 g/100 g was reached. The moisture content was
determined by the AOAC (1980) method 14.003.
2.3. Pasta nitrogen determination
All nitrogen determinations were carried out using a
Leco analyser, model FP 428, Leco Australia Pty Ltd.
Values for protein content of the pasta formulations
were not calculated because the conversion factor of the
nitrogen to protein differs depending on the protein
source. For cereals this factor is 5.7, and for meat
products, it is 6.25. Therefore, nitrogen content rather
than protein content is reported in this paper.
2.4. Texture and colour determination
Texture profile analysis of cooked pasta was under-
taken using an SMS XTRA Dimension Texture
Table 1
Pasta formulations
Pasta formulations Ingredients
Durum Biscuit/flour DBP Water
(g) (g)
(1) Durum semolina 2500 0 0
(2) Biscuit flour 0 2500
(3) Biscuit flour/2.2 g/100 g DBP 0 2447.2
(4) Biscuit flour/4.2 g/100 g DBP 0 2394.4
(5) Biscuit flour/6.3 g/100 g DBP 0 2342.5
(6) Biscuit flour/8.4 g/100 g DBP 0 2288.7
DBP=dry blood plasma.
Analyser (Stable Micro Systems, Black Down Rural
Industries).
Pasta cooking followed the method of D’egidio et al.
(1990). Pasta (1.7 mm thick, 100 g) was cooked in
boiling tap water (1 L) without added salt for 13 min.
The cooked pasta samples were kept in water (B3 min)
at room temperature. For each pasta treatment, three
strands were chosen at random and placed in parallel
on the measurement apparatus. The textural strength
was measured by applying vertical pressure (peak
force in grams) via a flat circular (50 mm diameter)
aluminium probe. This measurement was made in
triplicate and an average of the three measurements
recorded. The initial cut with the teeth (the bite)
was approximated by the force (in grams) required to
compress the sample to 1.7 mm depth (peak 1 in Fig. 1).
After the first compression, the probe was withdrawn
and then driven again into the pasta (peak 2 in Fig. 1).
The use of the texture analyser resulted in four
measurements, hardness (bite), the maximum force
necessary to attain a given deformation; springiness,
the rate at which a deformed sample returns to its
undeformed condition after the deforming force is
removed; chewiness (or resilience), the energy required
to masticate a semi-solid sample to a steady state of
swallowing; and gumminess, the energy required to
(g) (g)
800
0 800
52.8 800
105.6 800
157.5 800
211.3 800 Fig. 1. XTRA Dimension Stable Micro System (SMS) graph exhi-
biting the maximum peaks of hardness, springiness, chewiness and
gumminess results for the durum pasta.
 A.M. Yousif et al. / Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol. 36 (2003) 295–302
disintegrate a semi-solid sample to a steady state of
swallowing (Bourne, 1982).
The colour of dry ground pasta and cooked pasta was
measured using a Minolta colour analyser (Minolta
Camera Co. Ltd. model DP.301 CR-300 series). Dry
pasta samples were ground in a domestic coffee grinder
before the colour measurements were conducted.
Cooked pasta colour measurements followed the meth-
od of D’egidio et al. (1990). All samples were placed in a
small glass bowl with a glass cover in order to provide a
uniform flat surface. The Lab colour scale was used
where L is the degree of lightness (100, perfect white; 0,
black). The value a is the intensity of colour in the
direction of green (
) to red (+), with grey, zero and b
is the intensity of colour in the direction of blue (
) to
yellow (+), with grey, zero (Minolta Camera Co. Ltd.
Japan, 1987).
From the above, the colour difference index (CDI),
DE*ab, a one-dimensional measure of colour difference,
can be calculated according to the following equation
(Minolta Camera Co. Ltd. Japan, 1987):
DE  ab ¼ ½ðDLÞ2 þ ðDaÞ2 þ ðDbÞ2 1=2
2.5. Sensory assessment
A sensory study of the pasta containing DBP was
conducted using the method of Lee, Love, and Johnson
(1993). An untrained panel of 35 students and staff at
the University of New South Wales assessed cooked
pasta for four sensory attributes—colour, aroma,
flavour and aftertaste—for both intensity and hedonic
acceptability, as well as overall acceptability. Each pasta
formulation (Table 1) was cooked and served immedi-
ately. White plastic plates labelled with four digit codes
from a random number table were used to conceal the
identity of the pasta samples. Samples were served in
random order to the panellists, isolated in partitioned
booths illuminated with white fluorescent light. Panel-
lists were asked to taste samples and rate the attributes
from very bad or unacceptable, to excellent on a 15 cm
line. Numerical assessments of the panellist responses
were made by measuring the distance from the left of the
response-line in centimetres.
2.6. Statistical analysis
The pasta colour and texture data were subjected to a
one-way analysis of variance using the GLM procedure
in the SAS (version 6.12) statistical package. Sensory
data were analysed using analysis of variance on a
specially customised computer program (Keszi, 1994). A
least significant difference test was used to test the
equality of the class means. Significance for all data is
given at the P ¼ 0:05 level.
297
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Nitrogen content of pasta formulations
The biscuit flour pasta formulations exhibited an
increase in the nitrogen content with increased level of
DBP addition (Table 2). Addition of 6.3 g/100 g DBP to
the biscuit flour resulted in pasta with a nitrogen content
of 20.1 g/100 g, which is similar to the nitrogen content
of the durum pasta 20.0 g/100 g formulation. Therefore,
the trial pasta samples were enriched with nitrogen up to
and beyond the level of nitrogen in the durum reference
pasta. This indicates that the addition of DBP, which is
high in the amino acid lysine, to the low-protein/low-
lysine wheat flour produces a positive nutritional effect
in the resulting pasta (Del Rio De Ryes, Constantinides,
Sgarbieri, & El-Dash, 1980).
3.2. Objective measurement of pasta characteristics
3.2.1. Colour
The dry durum and biscuit flour formulations
exhibited significantly higher L values (were lighter in
colour) than the corresponding biscuit flour pasta
formulations containing DBP, and this difference was
maintained after cooking. Both raw and cooked pasta
exhibited a progressive reduction in L values with
increase DBP addition (Table 3), indicating a gradual
darkening of the pasta. Lee et al. (1991) found similar
results while substituting egg white with DBP in devils
food cake production.
The a values exhibited the opposite trend to the L
values with the dry and cooked durum and biscuit flour
formulations exhibiting significantly lower a values than
the corresponding biscuit flour formulations containing
DBP (Table 3). With increasing DBP addition, there
was a progressive increase in a values, indicating a
stronger red colour in the pasta (Table 3). This is
consistent with the results of Lee et al. (1991).
The dry durum pasta exhibited significantly higher b
values (Table 3) than all other dry pasta formulations.
This is because the durum pasta has the natural
golden yellow colour of durum. The biscuit flour
formulation, on the other hand, exhibited the lowest b
Table 2
Nitrogen content of pasta formulations
Formulations Nitrogen (g/100 g)a
(1) Durum semolina 2.070.01
(2) Biscuit flour 1.470.004
(3) Biscuit flour/2.2 g/100 g DBP 1.670.003
(4) Biscuit flour/4.2 g/100 g DBP 1.870.001
(5) Biscuit flour/6.3 g/100 g DBP 2.070.03
(6) Biscuit flour/8.4 g/100 g DBP 2.270.01
DBP=dry blood plasma.
a
Mean of three samples7S.D.
298 A.M. Yousif et al. / Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol. 36 (2003) 295–302

Table 3
Colour measurementsa of dry and cooked pasta formulations

Formulations L a b DE*ab

Dry pasta
(1) Durum semolina 83.6571a 0.2370.06a 18.5070.52a
(2) Biscuit flour 82.5470.4a 1.5870.12d 11.2570.66d 7.46
(3) Biscuit flour/ 2.2 g/100 g DBP 80.1970.45b 1.9970.09c 13.3270.47c 6.19
(4) Biscuit flour/ 4.2 g/100 g DBP 79.5370.55b 2.1370.18c 14.0570.6bc 7.17
(5) Biscuit flour/ 6.3 g/100 g DBP 78.9670.77b 2.4270.25b 14.4570.67b 7.89
(6) Biscuit flour /8.4 g/100 g DBP 77.3670.86c 2.8870.22a 15.0370.38b 9.45

Cooked pasta
(1) Durum semolina 73.0670.93a
1.9070.26d 15.7970.52a
(2) Biscuit flour 71.0570.75b
0.3270.07c 11.2670.62d 3.33
(3) Biscuit flour/ 2.2 g/100 g DBP 70.0070.9b
0.3770.08c 12.1970.42c 4.97
(4) Biscuit flour/ 4.2 g/100 g DBP 68.4270.67c 0.0470.04b 13.3870.56b 5.58
(5) Biscuit flour/ 6.3 g/100 g DBP 66.0970.57d 0.6270.1a 15.7270.49a 7.41
(6) Biscuit flour /8.4 g/100 g DBP 65.7370.78d 0.7170.13a 15.3270.44a 7.79

DBP=dry blood plasma. L: lightness/darkness. 7a: red/blue. 7b: yellow/green.

DE  ab was calculated relative to durum semolina samples.
Figures followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05).
a
Mean of three samples7S.D.

value (Table 3). Both raw and cooked DBP pasta
formulations exhibited a progressive increase in b value,
indicating increased yellowness with increasing DBP
addition (Table 3). Lee et al. (1991) found similar results
while substituting egg white with DBP in devils food
cake production.
Overall, the above L, a and b colour values indicated
that with increased DBP addition, the dry and cooked
biscuit flour pasta formulations become gradually
darker, redder and more yellow (Table 3). This change,
which reflects the brownish coloration of the DBP
added, is consistent with other reports that addition of
more than 2 g/100 g DBP to commercial bread and cake
results in darkening of the crumb and crust colour
(Bates, Wu, & Murphy, 1974; Khan, Rooney, & Dill,
1979; Lee et al., 1993).
The CDI, DE*ab, defined by Minolta Camera Co.
Ltd. Japan (1987) as the ‘direct distance, in a straight
line, between any two colours’ is a useful objective index
for determining colour differences. According to the
Handbook of Colour Science (1989), DE*ab, between
0 and 0.5 is a trace difference (impossible to detect
by human eyesight), between 0.5 and 1.5 is slightly
discernible (hard to detect by human eyesight), between
1.5 and 3.0 is noticeable (detectable by trained people),
between 3 and 6 is appreciable (detectable by ordinary
people), a difference of 6.0 to 12.0 is large (large
difference in the same colour group) and larger than
12.0 is extreme (another colour group). DE*ab is used
here to compare the overall colour of the different pasta
formulations. The values for the index in Table 3 are
calculated relative to the colour of the durum pasta, that
is, DE*ab for the durum pasta is zero.
Both raw and cooked pasta exhibited a progressive
increase in DE*ab between the durum pasta formulation
and biscuit flour/DBP formulations with increasing
DBP. Large differences were observed between the dry
durum and biscuit flour pastas. This difference was far
greater than the difference between the cooked durum
pasta and cooked biscuit flour pasta formulations,
indicating loss of pigment colour from the durum pasta
during cooking. Comparison of the raw and cooked
biscuit flour/DBP formulations showed lower DE*ab
values between the cooked durum pasta and cooked
biscuit flour/DBP formulations than the DE*ab values
of the raw pasta counterparts; this is indicative of loss of
pigment colour from the DBP during cooking.
The cooked biscuit flour/DBP (2.2 g/100 g) pasta
had the lowest DE*ab, that is, its colour was closer
to that of the cooked durum pasta than the other
biscuit flour/DBP pastas. However, according to the
Handbook of Colour Science (1989), this difference
(DE*ab=4.97) is ‘appreciable’ and would be detected by
most people.
3.2.2. Texture
There was a gradual increase in the hardness or ‘bite’
of pasta with increased levels of DBP addition to the
biscuit flour, up to pasta formulation 5 (6.3 g/100 g
DBP). Formulation 4 (4.2 g/100 g DBP) was not
significantly different from the durum sample while
formulation 5 showed significantly greater hardness.
The chewiness and gumminess of the biscuit flour pasta
was low and, with DBP addition, initially decreased,
then increased to a maximum value in pasta formulation
5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP) (Table 4), which was not sig-
nificantly different from that of the durum pasta.
Therefore, hardness, chewiness and gumminess of the
biscuit flour/DBP formulations reached the levels of the
durum pasta control at 4.2 or 6.3 g/100 g DBP addition.
 A.M. Yousif et al. / Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol. 36 (2003) 295–302 299

Table 4
Textural parameters of the pasta formulations as measured by a texture analyser

Formulations Hardness Chewiness Springiness (NS) Gumminess

(1) Durum semolina 2485.77103.3b 1214.8770.7ab 0.90470.03 1343.7752.0a

(2) Biscuit flour 2158.0753.9d 1017.67136.1bc 0.89070.07 1143.9771.4b
(3) Biscuit flour/ 2.2 g/100 g DBP 2223.8774.5cd 921.6787.1c 0.82870.05 1112.4752.2b
(4) Biscuit flour/4.2 g/100 g DBP 2357.9757.5bc 991.1735.0c 0.90170.04 1099.8751.1b
(5) Biscuit flour/6.3 g/100 g DBP 2761.17106.1a 1327.77126.7a 0.92270.07 1440.8793.5a
(6) Biscuit flour/8.4 g/100 g DBP 2269.67117.0cd 894.77127.6c 0.84370.05 1061.3788.7b

Mean of three samples7S.D.

DBP=dry blood plasma.
Figures followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05).

Table 5
Mean intensity scores for five sensory attributes of the pasta formulations

Attribute Durum Biscuit Biscuit flour/ Biscuit flour/ Biscuit flour/ Biscuit flour/ LSD values
semolina flour 2.2 g/100 g DBP 4.2 g/100 g DBP 6.3 g/100 g DBP 8.4 g/100 g DBP at Po0.05

Colour 5.42d 3.75e 6.31d 8.39c 9.68b 11.07a 1.05

Aroma 7.29ab 6.49ab 5.90b 6.82ab 7.40ab 8.68a 2.69
Flavour 5.67c 5.45c 6.05bc 6.22bc 9.55a 7.91ab 2.09
Texture 7.51b 4.98c 6.29bc 6.93bc 7.00bc 10.08a 2.14
Aftertaste 5.87c 6.00c 5.37c 6.31bc 7.63ab 8.11a 1.36

DBP=dry blood plasma. LSD=least significant difference.

Figures followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05).

According to the ANOVA analysis, the variation in
springiness with DBP addition was not significant.
An explanation for this increase in the pasta hardness
is that increased DBP addition to the biscuit flour
resulted in increased protein content in the pasta. With
the presence of increased protein, better dough devel-
opment occurs during the dough mixing stage, where the
protein forms into aggregates that result in higher dough
strength due to a stronger protein matrix (Blanshard,
Frazier, & Galliard, 1986). During cooking, the protein
matrix is denatured changing from soft gluten to a
rubber-like material, thereby increasing the bite and
internal firmness of the cooked pasta (Oh, Seib, Ward,
& Deyoe, 1985). Increased DBP addition to biscuit flour
resulted in increased pasta chewiness and gumminess
(Table 4). This may be due to the interaction of the
blood proteins with the wheat proteins in the cooked
pasta, which occurs as a result of the binding capacity of
DBP. The chewiness and gumminess of the pasta may
also be enhanced by the plasma proteins alone, which,
after coagulation, form a stable matrix with good
emulsification properties. Addition of 6.4 g/100 g DBP
to cake has been found to increase the chewiness,
springiness and gumminess (Lee et al., 1991). This level
of addition is close to that of formulation 5 (6.3 g/100 g
DBP), which showed the maximum levels of hardness,
chewiness, and gumminess in this investigation. All
parameters were lower for pasta formulation 6 (8.4 g/
100 g DBP); the reason for this is unclear.
Differences in pasta dough rheology and pasta
cooking quality may be largely attributed to the proteins
within the gluten complex. Gluten of medium strength
appears to produce pasta of optimum cooking quality.
In particular, a high proportion of glutenins among the
gluten proteins appears to be a prerequisite for the
production of superior quality pasta (Dexter & Matson,
1979). Therefore, the protein level and structure are
related to the pasta textural strength and cooking
quality.
Bovine blood plasma proteins are equivalent in
functional aspects to egg albumen (Lee et al., 1991)
providing heat coagulation properties similar to natural
egg in cereal products (Johnson, Havel, & Hoseney,
1979; Khan et al., 1979; Duxbury, 1988). This suggests
that blood plasma proteins interact strongly with and
therefore reinforce the wheat gluten, thereby increasing
the textural strength of pasta formulations based on
biscuit flour to which DBP is added.
3.3. Sensory evaluation of pasta
3.3.1. Colour intensity and acceptability
Biscuit flour pasta was perceived to be significantly
lighter in colour than all the other pasta formulations.
Due to the brownish colour of DBP, pasta formulations
3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP), 4 (4.2 g/100 g DBP), 5 (6.3 g/100 g
DBP) and 6 (8.4 g/100 g DBP) exhibited significantly
increased colour intensity with increased DBP addition.
Formulation 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP) was assessed as having
a colour closest to that of the durum pasta (Table 5).
The objective colour measurements (Table 3) were
300 A.M. Yousif et al. / Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol. 36 (2003) 295–302
Table 6
Hedonic acceptability means for six attributes of the pasta formulations
Attribute Durum Biscuit Biscuit flour/
semolina flour 2.2 g/100 g DBP
Colour 9.97a 5.88e 6.86bcde
Aroma 7.98a 6.83b 7.21ab
Flavour 7.54a 6.19b 6.93ab
Texture 9.32a 5.66f 7.50bc
Aftertaste 8.30a 6.29b 7.49ab
Overall acceptability 8.32a 5.94c 7.24ab
DBP=dry blood plasma. LSD=least significant difference.
Figures followed by the same letter are not significantly different (P>0.05).
consistent with the above, indicating a good correlation
between the objective and subjective colour evaluation.
Biscuit flour pasta colour acceptability increased with
increased DBP addition (Table 6). The colour of the
durum pasta was significantly more acceptable than any
other formulation. Pasta formulations 4 (4.2 g/100 g
DBP), 5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP), and 6 (8.4 g/100 g DBP) were
more acceptable than the biscuit flour pasta but not
significantly different from one another in perceived
colour. The colour of the pasta prepared from biscuit
flour was less acceptable than that of pasta formulations
3–6 containing DBP. This indicates that the panellist
preferred the formulated pasta that exhibits a colour
similar to the durum pasta. On the basis of the objective
colour data (Table 3), pasta formulation 3 (2.2 g/100 g
DBP) was closest in colour to the durum pasta;
however, the colour acceptabilities for pasta formula-
tions 4–6 were not significantly different from that of
formulation 3.
3.3.2. Aroma intensity and acceptability
No significant difference was observed in aroma
intensity between the durum pasta, biscuit flour pasta and
pasta formulations 4 (4.2 g/100 g DBP), and 5 (6.3 g/100 g
DBP) 6 (8.4 g/100 g DBP) (Table 5).
There were no significant differences among the
acceptability scores for aromas of the biscuit flour pasta
and pasta formulations 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP), 4 (4.2 g/100 g
DBP), 5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP) and 6 (8.4 g/100 g DBP)
(Table 6). Pasta formulations 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP) and 4
(4.2 g/100 g DBP) were not significantly different from
the durum pasta.
The presence of a meaty aroma is detrimental to an
essentially vegetarian product. It is therefore of interest
that, overall, no great difference was observed in aroma
intensity and acceptability between the standard durum
pasta and the other pasta formulations. This may be due
to the volatility of the DBP aroma that may dissipate
during cooking. Bates et al. (1974) reported that
addition of pork blood to bread resulted in a slight
cooked-liver aroma that dispersed and was not evident
when the bread was allowed to cool and then sliced and
toasted.
Biscuit flour/ Biscuit flour/ Biscuit flour/ LSD values
4.2 g/100 g DBP 6.3 g/100 g DBP 8.4 g/100 g DBP at P=0.05
7.51bcd 7.79b 7.78bc 1.33
7.16ab 6.34b 6.29b 1.07
6.39ab 5.61b 5.68b 1.32
7.09bcde 7.39bcd 7.69b 1.03
6.60b 7.47ab 5.87b 1.62
6.91bc 6.78bc 5.72c 1.29
3.3.3. Flavour intensity and acceptability
No significant difference in flavour intensity was
observed between the durum pasta and the biscuit flour
pasta, and pasta formulations 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP), and 4
(4.2 g/100 g DBP) (Table 5). Pastas with the two highest
levels of DBP addition, formulation 5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP)
and formulation 6 (8.4 g/100 g DBP), had significantly
stronger flavours than the durum and biscuit flour
pastas and pasta formulations 3 and 4.
The flavour acceptability scores for pasta formula-
tions 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP) and 4 (4.2 g/100 g DBP) were
not significantly different from that of the reference
durum pasta (Table 6). This is consistent with the
flavour intensity data. The other three pastas were
significantly less acceptable.
Other researchers have observed that addition of 2 g/
100 g DBP to commercial bread produced bread with
acceptable taste, but addition of 4 g/100 g DBP or
greater resulted in the formation of objectionable
flavours (Khan et al., 1979). The increase in flavour in
the higher DBP formulations is attributable to the
meaty flavour of the sarcoplasmic proteins in the DBP
(Duxbury, 1988).
3.3.4. Textural strength and acceptability
The subjective perception of pasta textural strength
followed a similar trend to pasta hardness as measured
by the texture analyser (Table 4); that is, it increased in
the biscuit flour/DBP pasta formulations with increased
DBP addition (Table 5). [Except for formulation 6
(8.4 g/100 g DBP addition), which was perceived to have
the strongest texture but its ‘hardness’ was inexpli-
cably less than that of formulation 5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP
addition)]. Furthermore, statistically the texture
strengths of pasta formulations 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP), 4
(4.2 g/100 g DBP), and 5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP) were not
significantly different from that of the durum pasta.
However, the texture of all trial formulations was
less acceptable than that of the durum pasta control
(Table 6). There were no significant differences among
the texture acceptability scores for the pasta formula-
tions containing DBP, but they were all significantly
higher than that of the biscuit flour pasta.
 A.M. Yousif et al. / Lebensm.-Wiss. U.-Technol. 36 (2003) 295–302
The texture as perceived by consumers can be
represented by a combination of the objective measures
of texture given in Table 4. These also show the biscuit
flour/DBP pastas to be closer in texture to the
durum pasta control than the biscuit flour. In fact,
from Table 4, it appears a biscuit flour/DBP pasta
containing between 4.2 g/100 g and 6.3 g/100 g would be
closest in texture to the durum pasta.
3.3.5. Aftertaste strength and acceptability
The addition of DBP to biscuit flour produced pasta
with progressively stronger aftertastes. However, the
biscuit flour pasta and pasta formulations 3 (2.2 g/100 g
DBP) and 4 (4.2 g/100 g DBP) were not significantly
different from the control durum pasta. Pasta for-
mulation 6 (8.4 g/100 g DBP) exhibited a significantly
stronger aftertaste than all other pastas (Table 5).
The aftertaste acceptability of pasta formulations 3
(2.2 g/100 g DBP) and 5 (6.3 g/100 g DBP) was not
significantly different from that of the durum pasta. All
other pastas were less acceptable in aftertaste than these
three pastas (Table 6).
3.3.6. Overall acceptability
The overall acceptability of the pasta formulations
decreased with increased DBP addition, with the biscuit
flour pasta having an acceptability that was not
significantly different from that of the pasta with the
highest level (8.45) of DBP (Table 6). However, pasta
formulation 3 (2.2 g/100 g DBP) was not significantly
different in overall acceptability from the durum pasta.
The overall acceptability scores for pasta formulations 3
(2.2 g/100 g DBP), 4 (4.2 g/100 g DBP) and 5 (6.3 g/100 g
DBP) were not significantly different from each other
but the scores for the latter two differed significantly
from those of the durum pasta.
Pastas made from low concentrations of DBP in
biscuit flour, in particular with 2.2 g/100 g DBP addi-
tion, were consistently more acceptable than pastas
made from biscuit flour alone, and compared most
favourably to the reference durum pasta. For this
reason, pastas made with a 2.2 g/100 g addition of
DBP appear to offer the best compromise between
improvement in protein content and texture of
biscuit flour pasta, and impairment of flavour due
to an excessive meaty flavour of high levels of DBP.
Higher levels of DBP (more than 2.2 g/100 g) may
be used if the colour, taste and aroma problems
are addressed. Conversely, the brownish colour, and
meaty aroma and taste may be considered an added
bonus if the pasta is used in producing meat pasta
products.
Religious, ethnic and sociological issues of using
a blood product will also need to be addressed in
marketing such a product. The recent outbreaks of
diseases such as BSE in cattle in some countries may
301
also be an impediment to the introduction of such a
product into the market.
4. Conclusion
The addition of DBP to biscuit flour resulted in pasta
with increased textural strength, darker colour and a
higher protein content. The sensory assessment indi-
cated that the addition of DBP improved the pasta
colour intensity and acceptability, aroma intensity,
flavour intensity, textural intensity and acceptabi-
lity, aftertaste intensity and acceptability, and overall
acceptability.
Subjective and objective assessments of the biscuit
flour/DBP formulations indicated that the pasta for-
mulation containing 2.2 g/100 g DBP gave a balance
between pasta protein content and organoleptic
acceptability. Increased addition of DBP, although
increasing the protein content and textural strength of
the pasta, resulted in a pasta with lower organoleptic
acceptability.
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