The negative impact of food neophobia (FN) on food and beverage (F&B) liking extends beyond foods... more The negative impact of food neophobia (FN) on food and beverage (F&B) liking extends beyond foods and beverages that are novel. In addition, F&Bs that are high in flavour intensity, perceived as dangerous, or have connections to other cultures are likely to elicit rejection by those high in FN. Each of these factors have been established as producing increased arousal, potentially to an unpleasant degree. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that increased arousal underlies all causes of rejection due to FN. To do this, we analysed and interpreted existing data based on online surveys that measured FN and liking for a broad range of F&B names from 8906 adult consumers in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Denmark. Negative associations between FN and liking of varying strengths were evident for 90% of the F&Bs. Consistent with the arousal hypothesis, F&Bs (a) with high flavour intensity, whether produced by chilli, other spices, or flavours, (b) from othe...
A potassium chloride-containing salt substitute lowers blood pressure levels, but its overall acc... more A potassium chloride-containing salt substitute lowers blood pressure levels, but its overall acceptability has been of concern due to its potential adverse effects on food taste. In a large-scale, blinded randomised trial evaluating the comparative effects of a salt substitute (65 % sodium chloride, 25 % potassium chloride and 10 % magnesium sulphate) and a normal salt (100 % sodium chloride) on blood pressure, we collected data on the saltiness, flavour and overall acceptability of food. We performed this at baseline, 1, 6 and 12 months post-randomisation using 100 mm visual analogue scales for assessments of both home-cooked foods and a standard salty soup. The mean age of the 608 participants from rural northern China was 60 years and 56 % of them were females. In the primary analyses, the changes in the saltiness, flavour and overall acceptability of both home-cooked foods and a standard salty soup were not different between the randomised groups (all P>0·08). In the seconda...
Although food flavours are composed of distinct sensory properties — odours and tastes primarily ... more Although food flavours are composed of distinct sensory properties — odours and tastes primarily — there is ample evidence that these properties are not perceived independently. Interactions between flavour qualities can be seen as reflecting repeated joint experience with those qualities. As a consequence, odours take on the properties of tastes, both perceptual and hedonic. Understanding these processes provides insight into the ways in which consumers perceive flavours, namely as synthetic, hedonically valenced wholes that form the basis of food choice.
Abstract Investigating the emotions elicited by a product considering only its sensory characteri... more Abstract Investigating the emotions elicited by a product considering only its sensory characteristics or both its sensory characteristics and packaging/branding can give a deeper insight into product perception and can help companies in the design and optimisation of products that meet consumer expectations. The aim of this study was to (i) measure how liking changes across blind, package (expected) and informed conditions, and (ii) measure how emotions change across blind and informed conditions, in products representing the widest range of sensory variability and brand identity in the market category of hazelnut and cocoa spreads. In the first session participants ( n = 120) tasted each product in a blind condition, expressed their liking and rated emotions using the EmoSemio questionnaire specifically developed for this product category (Spinelli, Masi, Dinnella, Zoboli, & Monteleone, 2014). Then consumers were asked to rate their expected liking for the products, presented in the original packaging by means of photos (pack/expected condition). After one week, consumers tasted each product presented with its own packaging (informed condition), expressed their liking and rated emotions. Emotions were very discriminating in both conditions: in the informed condition all the emotions significantly varied across samples, while in the blind condition 21 out of 23 (91.3%) varied. Results showed a correlation between liking (blind, expected and informed) and emotions. Complete assimilation of liking toward expectations was associated to an overall improvement of the emotional performance of the product: positive emotions increased in the case of complete assimilation towards the expectations, while negative emotions decreased. When there was a mismatch between expected liking evoked by packaging and blind liking (disconfirmation) but an assimilation effect was not found, some positive emotions significantly decreased in the informed condition compared to the blind one. This study suggests the importance of collecting emotion responses in both blind and informed conditions to detect changes in the emotional profile of products due to the brand/packaging providing information useful for product optimisation.
Previous research on the repeat exposure to a novel flavour combined with monosodium glutamate (M... more Previous research on the repeat exposure to a novel flavour combined with monosodium glutamate (MSG) has shown an increase in liking and consumption for the particular flavour. The aim of the current work was to investigate whether this could also be observed in the case of older people, since they are most affected by undernutrition in the developed world and ways to increase consumption of food are of significant importance for this particular age group. For this study, 40 older adults (age 65-88) repeatedly consumed potato soup with two novel flavours (lemongrass and cumin) which were either with or without a high level of MSG (5% w/w). A randomized single blind within-subject design was implemented, where each participant was exposed to both soup flavours three times over 6 days, with one of the soup flavours containing MSG. After three repeat exposures, consumption increased significantly for the soups where the flavours had contained MSG during the repeated exposure (mean weig...
Despite a few relationships between fungiform papillae (FP) density and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PRO... more Despite a few relationships between fungiform papillae (FP) density and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) taster status have been reported for sensory qualities within foods, the impact on preferences remains relatively unclear. The present study investigated responses of FP number and PROP taster groups to different bitter compounds and how these affect coffee perception, consumption and liking. Subjects (Ss) with higher FP numbers (HFP) gave higher liking ratings to coffee samples than those with lower FP numbers (LFP), but only for sweetened coffee. Moreover, HFP Ss added more sugar to the samples than LFP Ss. Significant differences between FP groups were also found for the sourness of the coffee samples, but not for bitterness and astringency. However, HFP Ss rated bitter taste stimuli as stronger than did LFP Ss. While coffee liking was unrelated to PROP status, PROP non-tasters (NTs) added more sugar to the coffee samples than did super-tasters (STs). In addition, STs rated sournes...
... Available online 14 August 2000. Abstract. Studies of cross-cultural chemosensory perceptions... more ... Available online 14 August 2000. Abstract. Studies of cross-cultural chemosensory perceptions and preferences are examined from the point of view of their ability to explain differences in food selection in different cultures. It ...
While past research has suggested an association between the ability to taste PROP and liking for... more While past research has suggested an association between the ability to taste PROP and liking for the taste of sucrose, many aspects of this relationship remain ambiguous. To clarify this further, 60 volunteers (40 women and 20 men) were classified as PROP super-medium or non-tasters and as sweet likers or dislikers depending on hedonic and intensity ratings for PROP and sucrose. 67% of PROP super-tasters were sweet dislikers, compared to 12% of PROP non-tasters. PROP super-tasters also rated the intensity of salty and sweet tastes as greater than did non- or medium PROP tasters, but these differences in sweet intensity could not explain the group differences in sweet liking. The groups did not differ in restraint or BMI. Taste bud density was higher in PROP super-tasters and sweet dislikers than in PROP medium or non-tasters or sweet likers. Overall these data confirm that PROP super-tasters are more likely to be sweet dislikers, and that this cannot be explained as secondary to cognitive attitudes to sweetness (restraint) or enhanced sweet intensity.
Cognition influences what, when and how much we eat, which in turn affects the brain and hence co... more Cognition influences what, when and how much we eat, which in turn affects the brain and hence cognition. In this overview, focusing mainly on the human literature, we start by examining cognitive influences on food and eating. This includes food preferences and choices (e.g., effects of learning, advertising, and cultural taboos), food habits relating to when and how much to eat (e.g., the concept of meals, dieting, and hunger strikes), the perception of food (e.g., the influence of appearance, food labels, and conceptions of naturalness), and how food perception is influenced by expertise. We also review how these various influences are disrupted by abnormalities of cognition (e.g., Gourmand syndrome, amnesia, and anorexia nervosa). The second part of the overview focuses on how diet affects cognition. We start by looking at the acute effects of diet, notably the impact of breakfast on cognitive performance in children. This is followed by a review of the effects of extended dietary exposures-years and lifetimes of particular diets. Here we look at the impacts of protein-energy malnourishment and Western-style diets, and their different, but adverse affects on cognition, and the beneficial effects on cognition of breast-feeding and certain dietary practices. We then outline how diet and cooking may have allowed the evolution of the large energy-hungry human brain. This overview serves to illustrate the multiple interactions that exist between cognition and diet, their importance to health and disease, and their impact on thinking about the role of conscious processes in decision making. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:463-475. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1290 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
The negative impact of food neophobia (FN) on food and beverage (F&B) liking extends beyond foods... more The negative impact of food neophobia (FN) on food and beverage (F&B) liking extends beyond foods and beverages that are novel. In addition, F&Bs that are high in flavour intensity, perceived as dangerous, or have connections to other cultures are likely to elicit rejection by those high in FN. Each of these factors have been established as producing increased arousal, potentially to an unpleasant degree. The aim of this study was to explore the hypothesis that increased arousal underlies all causes of rejection due to FN. To do this, we analysed and interpreted existing data based on online surveys that measured FN and liking for a broad range of F&B names from 8906 adult consumers in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Denmark. Negative associations between FN and liking of varying strengths were evident for 90% of the F&Bs. Consistent with the arousal hypothesis, F&Bs (a) with high flavour intensity, whether produced by chilli, other spices, or flavours, (b) from othe...
A potassium chloride-containing salt substitute lowers blood pressure levels, but its overall acc... more A potassium chloride-containing salt substitute lowers blood pressure levels, but its overall acceptability has been of concern due to its potential adverse effects on food taste. In a large-scale, blinded randomised trial evaluating the comparative effects of a salt substitute (65 % sodium chloride, 25 % potassium chloride and 10 % magnesium sulphate) and a normal salt (100 % sodium chloride) on blood pressure, we collected data on the saltiness, flavour and overall acceptability of food. We performed this at baseline, 1, 6 and 12 months post-randomisation using 100 mm visual analogue scales for assessments of both home-cooked foods and a standard salty soup. The mean age of the 608 participants from rural northern China was 60 years and 56 % of them were females. In the primary analyses, the changes in the saltiness, flavour and overall acceptability of both home-cooked foods and a standard salty soup were not different between the randomised groups (all P>0·08). In the seconda...
Although food flavours are composed of distinct sensory properties — odours and tastes primarily ... more Although food flavours are composed of distinct sensory properties — odours and tastes primarily — there is ample evidence that these properties are not perceived independently. Interactions between flavour qualities can be seen as reflecting repeated joint experience with those qualities. As a consequence, odours take on the properties of tastes, both perceptual and hedonic. Understanding these processes provides insight into the ways in which consumers perceive flavours, namely as synthetic, hedonically valenced wholes that form the basis of food choice.
Abstract Investigating the emotions elicited by a product considering only its sensory characteri... more Abstract Investigating the emotions elicited by a product considering only its sensory characteristics or both its sensory characteristics and packaging/branding can give a deeper insight into product perception and can help companies in the design and optimisation of products that meet consumer expectations. The aim of this study was to (i) measure how liking changes across blind, package (expected) and informed conditions, and (ii) measure how emotions change across blind and informed conditions, in products representing the widest range of sensory variability and brand identity in the market category of hazelnut and cocoa spreads. In the first session participants ( n = 120) tasted each product in a blind condition, expressed their liking and rated emotions using the EmoSemio questionnaire specifically developed for this product category (Spinelli, Masi, Dinnella, Zoboli, & Monteleone, 2014). Then consumers were asked to rate their expected liking for the products, presented in the original packaging by means of photos (pack/expected condition). After one week, consumers tasted each product presented with its own packaging (informed condition), expressed their liking and rated emotions. Emotions were very discriminating in both conditions: in the informed condition all the emotions significantly varied across samples, while in the blind condition 21 out of 23 (91.3%) varied. Results showed a correlation between liking (blind, expected and informed) and emotions. Complete assimilation of liking toward expectations was associated to an overall improvement of the emotional performance of the product: positive emotions increased in the case of complete assimilation towards the expectations, while negative emotions decreased. When there was a mismatch between expected liking evoked by packaging and blind liking (disconfirmation) but an assimilation effect was not found, some positive emotions significantly decreased in the informed condition compared to the blind one. This study suggests the importance of collecting emotion responses in both blind and informed conditions to detect changes in the emotional profile of products due to the brand/packaging providing information useful for product optimisation.
Previous research on the repeat exposure to a novel flavour combined with monosodium glutamate (M... more Previous research on the repeat exposure to a novel flavour combined with monosodium glutamate (MSG) has shown an increase in liking and consumption for the particular flavour. The aim of the current work was to investigate whether this could also be observed in the case of older people, since they are most affected by undernutrition in the developed world and ways to increase consumption of food are of significant importance for this particular age group. For this study, 40 older adults (age 65-88) repeatedly consumed potato soup with two novel flavours (lemongrass and cumin) which were either with or without a high level of MSG (5% w/w). A randomized single blind within-subject design was implemented, where each participant was exposed to both soup flavours three times over 6 days, with one of the soup flavours containing MSG. After three repeat exposures, consumption increased significantly for the soups where the flavours had contained MSG during the repeated exposure (mean weig...
Despite a few relationships between fungiform papillae (FP) density and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PRO... more Despite a few relationships between fungiform papillae (FP) density and 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) taster status have been reported for sensory qualities within foods, the impact on preferences remains relatively unclear. The present study investigated responses of FP number and PROP taster groups to different bitter compounds and how these affect coffee perception, consumption and liking. Subjects (Ss) with higher FP numbers (HFP) gave higher liking ratings to coffee samples than those with lower FP numbers (LFP), but only for sweetened coffee. Moreover, HFP Ss added more sugar to the samples than LFP Ss. Significant differences between FP groups were also found for the sourness of the coffee samples, but not for bitterness and astringency. However, HFP Ss rated bitter taste stimuli as stronger than did LFP Ss. While coffee liking was unrelated to PROP status, PROP non-tasters (NTs) added more sugar to the coffee samples than did super-tasters (STs). In addition, STs rated sournes...
... Available online 14 August 2000. Abstract. Studies of cross-cultural chemosensory perceptions... more ... Available online 14 August 2000. Abstract. Studies of cross-cultural chemosensory perceptions and preferences are examined from the point of view of their ability to explain differences in food selection in different cultures. It ...
While past research has suggested an association between the ability to taste PROP and liking for... more While past research has suggested an association between the ability to taste PROP and liking for the taste of sucrose, many aspects of this relationship remain ambiguous. To clarify this further, 60 volunteers (40 women and 20 men) were classified as PROP super-medium or non-tasters and as sweet likers or dislikers depending on hedonic and intensity ratings for PROP and sucrose. 67% of PROP super-tasters were sweet dislikers, compared to 12% of PROP non-tasters. PROP super-tasters also rated the intensity of salty and sweet tastes as greater than did non- or medium PROP tasters, but these differences in sweet intensity could not explain the group differences in sweet liking. The groups did not differ in restraint or BMI. Taste bud density was higher in PROP super-tasters and sweet dislikers than in PROP medium or non-tasters or sweet likers. Overall these data confirm that PROP super-tasters are more likely to be sweet dislikers, and that this cannot be explained as secondary to cognitive attitudes to sweetness (restraint) or enhanced sweet intensity.
Cognition influences what, when and how much we eat, which in turn affects the brain and hence co... more Cognition influences what, when and how much we eat, which in turn affects the brain and hence cognition. In this overview, focusing mainly on the human literature, we start by examining cognitive influences on food and eating. This includes food preferences and choices (e.g., effects of learning, advertising, and cultural taboos), food habits relating to when and how much to eat (e.g., the concept of meals, dieting, and hunger strikes), the perception of food (e.g., the influence of appearance, food labels, and conceptions of naturalness), and how food perception is influenced by expertise. We also review how these various influences are disrupted by abnormalities of cognition (e.g., Gourmand syndrome, amnesia, and anorexia nervosa). The second part of the overview focuses on how diet affects cognition. We start by looking at the acute effects of diet, notably the impact of breakfast on cognitive performance in children. This is followed by a review of the effects of extended dietary exposures-years and lifetimes of particular diets. Here we look at the impacts of protein-energy malnourishment and Western-style diets, and their different, but adverse affects on cognition, and the beneficial effects on cognition of breast-feeding and certain dietary practices. We then outline how diet and cooking may have allowed the evolution of the large energy-hungry human brain. This overview serves to illustrate the multiple interactions that exist between cognition and diet, their importance to health and disease, and their impact on thinking about the role of conscious processes in decision making. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:463-475. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1290 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The authors have declared no conflicts of interest for this article.
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