Effect of Age and Food Novelty on Food Memory

The influence of age of the consumer and food novelty on incidentally learned food memory was investigated by providing a meal containing novel and familiar target items under the pretense of a study on hunger feelings to 34 young and 36 older participants in France and to 24 young and 20 older participants in Denmark and testing them a day later on recognition of the targets among a set of distractors that were variations of the target made by adding or subtracting taste (sour or sweet) or aroma (orange or red berry flavor). Memory was also tested by asking participants to indicate whether the target and the distractors were equal to or less or more intense than the remembered target in sourness sweetness and aroma. The results showed that when novelty is defined as whether people know or not a given product, it has a strong influence on memory performance, but that age did not, the elderly performing just as well as the young. The change in the distractors was more readily detected with familiar than with novel targets where the participants were still confused by the target itself. Special attention is given to the influence of the incidental learning paradigm on the outcome and to the ways in which it differs from traditional recognition experiments

Déterminants précoces du comportement alimentaire

Dès les premiers mois, les expériences sensorielles précoces et en particulier les expériences gustatives et olfactives sont mémorisées et peuvent ainsi moduler les réactions des enfants vis-à-vis d’aliments porteurs des saveurs et arômes auxquels ils ont été exposés. Ces expériences précoces peuvent favoriser l’introduction d’aliments nouveaux et par suite la variété du répertoire alimentaire en réduisant la néophobie alimentaire, c'est-à-dire la réticence à goûter des aliments, phénomène qui est considéré comme une réponse adaptative à la condition d’omnivore qui pousse à consommer des aliments variés, lesquels peuvent se révéler toxiques. Nous présenterons ici les facteurs qui, à chacune de ces étapes clés de la construction du répertoire alimentaire, peuvent influencer le comportement ultérieu

Impact of Innovation on Consumers Liking and Willingness to Pay for Traditional Sausages

International audienceThe main objective of the study was to evaluate Polish consumers' liking and willingness to pay for innovations in traditional sausages "Kabanos". The study also attempted to determine whether regional differences may influence acceptance of innovations and the willingness to pay for such products. As both sensory factors and prices are important in food choice decisions, the methodological approach combined hedonic liking and experimental auctions. The study involved 221 consumers of traditional pork sausages who evaluated intrinsic and extrinsic product attributes in blind (tasting only), expectancy (product information only) and fully informed (tasting and product information) experimental conditions. The results show that acceptance of innovation in traditional sausages is determined by the type of innovation proposed. Innovation related to extrinsic attributes like packaging i.e. biodegradable packaging seem to be the most welcome regardless experimental conditions while innovations improving healthiness of traditional sausages but violating their sensory properties i.e. lower salt level tend to be disapproved. There are regional differences observed in acceptance and willingness to pay for innovative variants of Kabanos. In general, consumers in Warsaw are more inclined to pay more for innovative variants of Kabanos than consumers in Cracow. Participants from the two regions had also different hedonic reactions towards organic and spicy variant of Kabanos. Prior research concerning acceptance of innovation in traditional food products in Poland is scarce. Therefore, such information is particularly pertinent to SMEs and distributors operating in traditional food sector to support innovation and development of adequate communication strategies

Salt content impacts food preferences and intake among children

This work was supported by a PhD grant from the Nutrition, Chemical Food Safety and Consumer Behavior Division of INRA (French National Institute for Agronomical Research, France) and the Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SB; and by a research grant (Gustolf) from Regional Council of Burgundy (France) received by SN. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Decreasing dietary sodium intake, which can be achieved by reducing salt content in food, is recommended. Salt contributes to the taste of foods and makes them more enjoyable. Whether a food is liked or disliked is an important determinant of food intake, especially among children. However, the role of salt in children's food acceptance has received little attention. The impact of salt content on children's hedonic rating and intake of two foods was investigated in children. Using a within-subject crossover design, we recruited 75 children (8–11 years) to participate in five lunches in their school cafeteria. The target foods were green beans and pasta. The added salt content was 0, 0.6 or 1.2 g/100 g. The children's intake (g) of all lunch items was measured. The children provided their hedonic rating of the food, a preference ranking and a saltiness ranking in the laboratory. Children could rank the foods according to salt content, and they preferred the two saltier options. A food-specific effect of salt content on intake was observed. Compared to the intermediate level (0.6 g salt/100 g), not adding salt decreased green bean intake (−21%; p = 0.002), and increasing the salt content increased pasta intake (+24%; p<0.0001). Structural Equation Modeling was used to model the relative weights of the determinants of intake. It showed that the primary driver of food intake was the child's hunger; the second most important factor was the child's hedonic rating of the food, regardless of its salt content, and the last factor was the child's preference for the particular salt content of the food. In conclusion, salt content has a positive and food-specific effect on intake; it impacted food preferences and intake differently in children. Taking into account children's preferences for salt instead of their intake may lead to excessive added salt

Preferences for fat and basic tastes in 3-, 6- and 12-month-old infants

Fat perception received recent interest, but fat preference in human infants is a matter of debate. The objective here was to investigate fat and taste preferences in the same infants (N= 66) at 3, 6 and 12 months. Preference for a fat solution (sunflower and rapeseed oils mixed with soy lecithin) and for taste solutions (sweet, lactose; salty, NaCl; bitter, urea; sour, citric acid; umami, sodium glutamate) was evaluated. The same method was applied at each age. Mothers and their infant participated in 2 videotaped sessions, during which the 5 taste and fat solutions were assessed in a balanced order. For each taste, 4 bottles (water, tastant, tastant and water) were presented by the experimenter.Twoglobal indices were calculated to represent acceptance of the tastant relatively to water (W), based on ingested volumes and on facial expressions. At 3 and 6 mo, the fat solution was as consumed as W; but less than W at 12 mo; at all ages it elicited ‘negative’ expressions. For taste solutions, at 3 mo the sweet solution was more and the bitter one wasless consumed thanW;the bitter and the sour solutions elicited ‘negative’ expressions. At 6 and 12 mo, the sweet and salty solutions were more consumed than W and elicited ‘positive’ expressions; the bitter and sour solutions elicited negative expressions. Infants were indifferent to the umami solution. These findings are in accordance with the literature on taste preference but the indifference or rejection of the fat solution raise questions about an ‘innate’ preference for fat. The olfactory component of fat might be involved in this rejection

Logos on environmental sustainability in wine production: how do Burgundy consumers perceive them?

Logos on environmental sustainability could consist of an effective strategy to provide consumers accurate, understandable and trustable information in order to encourage them to buy environmentally sustainable wine. However, the large number of different logos on environmental sustainability available in the market raises the question of whether their associated messages are successfully conveyed to consumers. In this context, the aim of the present exploratory study was to investigate how Burgundy wine consumers perceive a series of logos on environmental sustainability in wine production. Fourteen logos available in the French market were selected: three logos being specific to wine and eleven non-specific to wine. The logos were presented to 127 wine consumers from Dijon area (France) following an incomplete balanced block design. For each logo, participants had to answer the question: ?What does a bottle of wine with this logo suggest you?? Responses were qualitatively analyzed and grouped into different categories. Chi-square test and Correspondence analysis were used to identify the relationship among logos and categories. Results showed large differences in how consumers perceived the logos. Logos that most successfully conveyed their messages were Biodyvin, the ancient European AB and the French AB organic logos, which were strongly associated to organic wine. Most logos did not communicate a message related to environmental sustainability, which reaffirms the need to provide consumers with adequate information on environmental sustainability, and indicate the need for further research on this subject

Sensory Characterization and Consumer Preference Mapping of Fresh Sausages Manufactured with Goat and Sheep Meat

The main objective of this study was the sensory characterization, by a taste and a consumers' panel, of fresh sausages from 140 culled goats and 140 culled ewes. Species and type of preparation effects were studied. All data were previously analyzed by analysis of variance. Taste panel data were analyzed by a Generalized Procrustes Analysis (GPA). Consumers' panel data were analyzed by Preference Mapping. The 1st 2 factors explained 88.22% of total variation in GPA. Different sausages samples were perfectly differentiated by assessors. Goat sausages have been considered harder, more fibrous, and less juicy than sheep sausages. The panelists observed that sheep sausages without paprika had greater intensity of flavor, tasted spicy, and had an off-odor, while goat sausages with paprika were considered sweeter. Consumers' panel did not show any preference for the different types of sausages. This means that all types of sausages can have market opportunity.Work included in the Portuguese PRODER research Project number 020260013013 “New goat and sheep processed meat products.”info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Evidence for different patterns of chemosensory alterations in the elderly population: impact of age versus dependency

The present experiment aimed to explore the interindividual variability in chemosensory abilities among the elderly population. The chemosensory abilities of 559 subjects, aged from 65 to 99 years, were evaluated. Various categories of the elderly, including people who were living at home either without or with assistance, and people who were living in a nursing home, were interviewed. The results revealed that 43% of the sample presented well-preserved chemosensory abilities, whereas 21% of the participants presented a moderate impairment. Of the sample, 33% presented well-preserved olfactory abilities but strong impairment in gustatory abilities and 3% were nearly anosmic but remained able to perceive the salty taste, demonstrating that gustation and olfaction were not systematically damaged simultaneously. The results showed a link between the level of dependence (free living vs. living at home with help vs. nursing home) and chemosensory abilities, independently of the age effect. These results strengthen the hypothesis that the impairment of chemosensory abilities is not only an effect of age per se; rather, it is related to events that are associated with aging. Factors that lead to increased dependence (such as poor health) also lead to an impairment in chemosensory performance

A modal approach to the numerical simulation of a string vibrating against an obstacle:Applications to sound synthesis

A number of musical instruments (electric basses, tanpuras, sitars...) have a particular timbre due to the contact between a vibrating string and an obstacle. In order to simulate the motion of such a string with the purpose of sound synthesis, various technical issues have to be resolved. First, the contact phenomenon, inherently nonlinear and producing high frequency components, must be described in a numerical manner that ensures stability. Second,as a key ingredient for sound perception, a fine-grained frequency dependent description of losses is necessary. In this study, a new conservative scheme based on a modal representation of the displacement is presented, allowing the simulation of a stiff, damped string vibrating against an obstacle with an arbitrary geometry. Inthis context, damping parameters together with eigen frequencies of the system can be adjusted individually, allowing for complete control over loss characteristics. Two cases are then numerically investigated: a point obstacle located in the vicinity of the boundary, mimicking the sound of the tanpura, and then a parabolic obstacle for the sound synthesis of the sitar

HabEat: Understanding critical periods and critical factors of the formation and of the modification of food habits

Introduction: Diets of young children in many European countries are not ideal (too many lipids; not enough fruit and vegetables). Early nutrition may have an impact on health in later life (diabetes, obesity, heart problems) and the first two years of life are of crucial importance in the acquisition of food habits. The HabEat project aims at understanding better of how food habits are formed and can be changed, in infants and children (< 5 years). Methods: With 11 beneficiaries from 6 European countries, HabEat (2010-2013) is based on a multidisciplinary approach (epidemiology, nutrition, behavioural science, psychology and sensory science). On one hand, in order to identify critical periods and critical factors in the formation of food habits, the epidemiological approach is exploiting existing data from 4 cohorts (Eden, France; ALSPAC, UK; GenerationXXI, Portugal; EuroPrevall, Greece). On the other hand, the experimental approach is focusing on key learning mechanisms (in 6mo-3y children) and on new strategies for changing from poor to healthy habits (in 3-5y children). Results: All workpackages of the Habeat project are on-going. This research will increase understanding of the critical periods when food habits and eating patterns form and to support effective intervention strategies for habit-breaking and behavioural change directed towards making healthier food choices. Conclusion: By 2013, the results from HabEat should lead to recommendations in parental practices for feeding infants and children, of particular use to early childhood professionals, paediatricians and politicy makers responsible for drafting feeding guidelines and also to the baby food industry