Aroma effects on food choice task behavior and brain responses to bakery food product cues

Atmospheric Degradation Mechanism of Isoamyl Acetate Initiated by OH Radicals and Cl Atoms Revealed by Quantum Chemical Calculations and Kinetic Modeling

Isoamyl acetate is one of the volatile organic compound class molecules relevant to agricultural and industrial applications. With the growing interest in isoamyl acetate applications in industry, the atmospheric fate of isoamyl acetate must be considered. Reaction mechanisms, potential energy profiles, and rate constants of isoamyl acetate reaction with atmospheric relevant oxidant OH radicals and Cl atoms have been obtained from the quantum chemical calculations and kinetic modeling. The geometry optimizations were conducted using M06-2X/6-311++G(3df,3pd) followed by single point-energy calculations at the DLPNO-CCSD(T) method with an extrapolated complete basis set. The rate constants were calculated by solving the master equation. A hydrogen-abstraction reaction dominates the first step of isoamyl acetate degradation, while the addition-substitution reaction plays a small role in the degradation products. The kinetic study was conducted to evaluate the rate constants within a temperature range of 200-400 K. The total rate constants for the isoamyl acetate degradation reactions initiated by the OH radical and Cl atom were determined to be 6.96 × 10-12 and 1.27 × 10-10 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, respectively, under standard temperature and pressure conditions. The product degradation mechanism, ozone formation potential, and atmospheric impacts were discussed.

An advance in novel intelligent sensory technologies: From an implicit-tracking perspective of food perception

Food sensory evaluation mainly includes explicit and implicit measurement methods. Implicit measures of consumer perception are gaining significant attention in food sensory and consumer science as they provide effective, subconscious, objective analysis. A wide range of advanced technologies are now available for analyzing physiological and psychological responses, including facial analysis technology, neuroimaging technology, autonomic nervous system technology, and behavioral pattern measurement. However, researchers in the food field often lack systematic knowledge of these multidisciplinary technologies and struggle with interpreting their results. In order to bridge this gap, this review systematically describes the principles and highlights the applications in food sensory and consumer science of facial analysis technologies such as eye tracking, facial electromyography, and automatic facial expression analysis, as well as neuroimaging technologies like electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, we critically compare and discuss these advanced implicit techniques in the context of food sensory research and then accordingly propose prospects. Ultimately, we conclude that implicit measures should be complemented by traditional explicit measures to capture responses beyond preference. Facial analysis technologies offer a more objective reflection of sensory perception and attitudes toward food, whereas neuroimaging techniques provide valuable insight into the implicit physiological responses during food consumption. To enhance the interpretability and generalizability of implicit measurement results, further sensory studies are needed. Looking ahead, the combination of different methodological techniques in real-life situations holds promise for consumer sensory science in the field of food research.

Orthonasal olfactory influences on consumer food behaviour

It is often suggested in the popular press that food chains deliberately introduce enticing product aromas into (and in the immediate vicinity of) their premises in order to attract customers. However, despite the widespread use of odours in the field of sensory marketing, laboratory research suggests that their effectiveness in modulating people's food behaviours depends on a range of contextual factors. Given the evidence that has been published to date, only under a subset of conditions is there likely to be a measurable effect of the presence of ambient odours on people's food attitudes and choices. This narrative historical review summarizes the various ways in which food odours appear to bias people's food preferences (appetite) and food choices (food consumption and purchase). Emphasis is placed on those experimental studies that have been designed to investigate how the characteristics of the olfactory stimuli (e.g., the congruency between the olfactory cues and the foods, intensity and duration of exposure to odours, and taste properties of odours) modulate the effects of olfactory cues on food behaviour. The review also explores the moderating roles of individual differences, such as dietary restraint, Body Mass Index (BMI), genetic and cultural differences in odour sensitivity and perception. Ultimately, following a review of empirical studies on food-related olfaction, current approaches in scent marketing are discussed and a research agenda is proposed to help encourage further studies on the effective application of scents in promoting healthy foods.

See the cake and have it too? Investigating the effect of watching a TV cooking show on unhealthy food choices

This study tested whether exposure to food-related (vs. non-food related) TV content would increase unhealthy food choices in unsuccessful restrained eaters (i.e., chronic dieters with low perceived self-regulatory success; PSRS), decrease unhealthy food choices in successful restrained eaters (i.e., chronic dieters with high PSRS), and would not affect food choices in unrestrained eaters (i.e., non-dieters). As such, we attempted to (1) explain previous mixed findings on behavioral effects of exposure to food-related TV content, and (2) generalize previous findings on successful and unsuccessful restrained and unrestrained eaters' differential reactivity to isolated food cues (e.g., food words) to food cues embedded in TV content. In a one-factorial between-subjects experiment, participants viewed a cooking segment in which high-calorie cakes were prepared (n = 50) or a non-food segment (n = 62) of a TV show. The percentage of unhealthy (vs. healthy) food choices in a computerized choice task served as dependent variable. Eating restraint and PSRS were measured afterwards. In contrast to the hypothesis, no three-way interaction between TV content, eating restraint, and PSRS on the percentage of unhealthy food choices was found. However, it was found that overall, people with lower levels of PSRS made a higher percentage of unhealthy food choices compared to people with higher levels of PSRS. Contrasting findings from previous research using isolated food cues, this study showed no evidence of unsuccessful restrained eaters' heightened susceptibility to food cues in TV content, possibly explained by a lower salience of or attention to food cues.

Nutrition label processing in the past 10 years: Contributions from eye tracking approach

Healthy eating plays a critical role in preventing diet-related chronic diseases. To promote healthy eating, nutrition labels have been mandated to certain foods in many countries. To test how different designs of nutrition labels affect consumer behavior, eye tracking technique has been increasingly used to overcome the limitations of subjective report which are susceptible to different biases and a poor indicator of nutrition label use in reality. In this review, we reviewed 45 eye-tracking studies on nutrition label processing. Besides a summary of eye tracking methodology, we found three emerged topics from these studies: attention capture, nutrition label comprehension and food choice. Overall, updated designs of nutrition labels improve attention capture and nutrition label comprehension, but it does not necessarily lead to healthier food choices. The discrepancy between attention capture and food choice also indicate potential limitation in promoting healthy food choice via the indirect attention route (exposure - attention - nutrition label processing - food choice). Instead, actual food choice may be a consequence of a direct heuristic route and modulated by person-, product- and context-related factors. These findings can not only guide future studies, but also have implications on making nutrition label policy and improving human health in eastern developing countries.

Nudging to get our food choices on a sustainable track

Food production is one of the major contributors to environmental damage. Adaptations in our food choices are needed to preserve resources for the needs of future generations. More sustainable consumption patterns have been encouraged by economic incentives, laws, education and communication campaigns. Nonetheless, consumers still find difficulties in trying to change their current food habits. This review takes a behavioural approach in encouraging sustainable food choices among consumers. From a nudging perspective, many behavioural changes can be encouraged in a non-obtrusive way by adapting the complex food environment in which consumers are operating. These interventions do not restrict consumers' choices but rather adapt the choice architecture wherein food decisions are made. Drawing on the literature from diverse theoretical perspectives, we provide an overview of the application of nudging for more sustainable food choices and highlight where more research is needed. More specifically, we discuss research that used nudging to engender cognitive impact (i.e. the use of labels or visibility enhancements), affective responses (i.e. sensorial and social influence cues) and behavioural effects (i.e. adjustments in convenience and product size). We conclude that this review only shows the tip of the iceberg of the research on nudging and sustainable consumption that is likely forthcoming in the next few years, following the successes of nudging applications in other domains. Nonetheless, each individual nudging intervention requires careful examination. Personal predispositions towards the environment should be considered when designing interventions, demonstrating the complementarity of nudging with education on sustainable consumption.

High-Tempo and Stinky: High Arousal Sound-Odor Congruence Affects Product Memory

The tendency to match different sensory modalities together can be beneficial for marketing. Here we assessed the effect of sound-odor congruence on people's attitude and memory for products of a familiar and unfamiliar brand. Participants smelled high- and low-arousal odors and then saw an advertisement for a product of a familiar or unfamiliar brand, paired with a high- or low-arousal jingle. Participants' attitude towards the advertisement, the advertised product, and the product's brand was measured, as well as memory for the product. In general, no sound-odor congruence effect was found on attitude, irrespective of brand familiarity. However, congruence was found to affect recognition: when a high-arousal odor and a high-arousal sound were combined, participants recognized products faster than in the other conditions. In addition, familiar brands were recognized faster than unfamiliar brands, but only when sound or odor arousal was high. This study provides insight into the possible applications of sound-odor congruence for marketing by demonstrating its potential to influence product memory.