Project Description

 Title: The sensory attributes of sorbets containing different ratios of Davidson Plum Powder

 This project has received University of Canberra Human Research Ethics Approval (HREC 2023-13368).

The Davidson plum is a commercially grown native fruit within Australia. They have been used for a variety of food products including jams, chutneys, and commercial smoothies. The Davidson Plum contains a significant amount of antioxidant capacity that could be utilised as a bioactive food product providing significant health benefits. The common food products this fruit is found within are considered processed, thus containing high amounts of sugar and additives to enhance the flavour and colour. Furthermore, they are underutilised as a potential food product with no significant research on their antioxidant effect within humans. Therefore, this research project aims to determine the acceptability and likeability of sorbet containing various levels of Davidson plum powder. The findings of this project may provide baseline evidence on the utilisation of Davidson plum powder in functional food product development. Furthermore, the findings can be used as a stepping stone for a clinical trial to evaluate the use of the Davidson plum as a functional ingredient in several different foods to improve health within an athletic population.

This project is funded by the University of Canberra and via the funds of the FFNR Laboratory.

The aim of this research is to assess the colour, odor, taste, consistency, overall preference, sensory attributes likeability, acceptability of different ratios of Davidson Plum powder in a variety of sorbets.