Differences in oral processing behavior of consumers varying in age, gender and ethnicity lead to changes in bolus properties but only to small differences in dynamic texture perception of sausages

Influence of Chewing Rate and Food Composition on in Vivo Aroma Release and Perception of Composite Foods

This study investigated the effects of chewing rate and food composition on in vivo aroma release and perception of composite foods. Bread or sponge cake paired with varying sugar content and viscosity strawberry jams, spiked with citral and limonene, were examined. In-nose release was characterized using Proton-Transfer-Reaction-Time-of-Flight-Mass-Spectrometry (PTR-ToF-MS). Simultaneously, Time-Intensity (TI) profiling assessed citrus aroma perception (n = 8, triplicate) while fast and slow chewing protocols were applied (fast: 1.33 chews/s; slow 0.66 chews/s; each for 25 s). Chewing rate did not significantly impact the area under the curve and maximum intensity of in vivo citral and limonene release and citrus aroma perception. Faster chewing rates significantly decreased the time to reach maximum intensity of aroma release (p < 0.05) and citrus aroma perception (p < 0.001). Faster chewing rates probably accelerated structural breakdown, inducing an earlier aroma release and perception without affecting aroma intensity. Adding carriers to jams significantly (p < 0.05) increased aroma release, while perceived citrus aroma intensity significantly (p < 0.05) decreased regardless of chewing rate. In conclusion, chewing rate affects the temporality of in vivo aroma release and perception without affecting its intensity, and carrier addition increases in vivo aroma release while diminishing aroma perception.

Multi-attribute temporal descriptive methods in sensory analysis applied in food science: A systematic scoping review

Among descriptive sensory evaluation methods, temporal methods have a wide audience in food science because they make it possible to follow perception as close as possible to the moment when sensations are perceived. The aim of this work was to describe 30 years of research involving temporal methods by mapping the scientific literature using a systematic scoping review. Thus, 363 research articles found from a search in Scopus and Web of Science from 1991 to 2022 were included. The extracted data included information on the implementation of studies referring to the use of temporal methods (details related to subjects, products, descriptors, research design, data analysis, etc.), reasons why they were used and the conclusions they allowed to be drawn. Metadata analysis and critical appraisal were also carried out. A quantitative and qualitative synthesis of the results allowed the identification of trends in the way in which the methods were developed, refined, and disseminated. Overall, a large heterogeneity was noted in the way in which the temporal measurements were carried out and the results presented. Some critical research gaps in establishing the validity and reliability of temporal methods have also been identified. They were mostly related to the details of implementation of the methods (e.g., almost no justification for the number of consumers included in the studies, absence of report on panel repeatability) and data analysis (e.g., prevalence of use of exploratory data analysis, only 20% of studies using confirmatory analyses considering the dynamic nature of the data). These results suggest the need for general guidelines on how to implement the method, analyze and interpret data, and report the results. Thus, a template and checklist for reporting data and results were proposed to help increase the quality of future research.

Effect of texture preference on food texture perception: Exploring the role of matching food texture and preference

This study aimed to investigate the influence of smooth texture preference on smoothness perception. An online questionnaire (Study 1, n = 464) and a sensory evaluation test (Study 2, n = 65) were administered to Japanese elderly participants (65-74 years), with common Japanese confectionery (Daifuku) as test foods. Through the online questionnaire, four distinct texture preference groups were formed based on the factors of preference for smoothness and firmness of the inner bean paste layer. Analysis of the food preference scale for imbalanced diet (FPSID) revealed that smooth-texture likers were more likely to be picky eaters than firm-texture likers. Furthermore, high (HiSm) and low smoothness preference groups (LoSm) were selected for the food sensory evaluation test to compare perceived textures (smoothness and firmness). Only the HiSm group exhibited a positive association between perceived smoothness and overall texture liking, perceiving smoothness significantly more intense than the LoSm group in situations where overall texture liking was high. This finding indicates that smooth texture preference does not act independently but rather interacts with food texture matching to affect perception. Our findings suggest that when food texture aligns with individuals' preferences, it elicits hedonic emotions and dynamically enhances food texture perception. This preference-involved perceptual process may contribute to the development of more explicit texture preferences.

Predicting thickness perception of liquid food products from their non-Newtonian rheology

The "mouthfeel" of food products is a key factor in our perception of food quality and in our appreciation of food products. Extensive research has been performed on what determines mouthfeel, and how it can be linked to laboratory measurements and eventually predicted. This was mainly done on the basis of simple models that do not accurately take the rheology of the food products into account. Here, we show that the subjectively perceived "thickness" of liquid foods, or the force needed to make the sample flow or deform in the mouth, can be directly related to their non-Newtonian rheology. Measuring the shear-thinning rheology and modeling the squeeze flow between the tongue and the palate in the oral cavity allows to predict how a panel perceives soup "thickness". This is done for various liquid bouillons with viscosities ranging from that of water to low-viscous soups and for high-viscous xanthan gum solutions. Our findings show that our tongues, just like our eyes and ears, are logarithmic measuring instruments in agreement with the Weber-Fechner law that predicts a logarithmic relation between stimulus amplitude and perceived strength. Our results pave the way for more accurate prediction of mouthfeel characteristics of liquid food products.

Prediction of in-vitro glycemic responses of biscuits in an engineered small intestine system

The Glycemic Index (GI) indicates the effect of a food product on the increase/decrease in postprandial blood glucose levels. Monitoring the glycemic response is important, as it is associated with the human nutrition absorption. However, human or animal blood sampling involves financial, ethical, and other challenges. Accordingly, in the recent past, many human digestion models have been developed to understand the intricate changes that occur during human digestion and absorption processes. Dynamic models help in studying the digestion mechanics and hypotheses related to the health effects of food ingredients in controlled conditions. The objective of this study is to predict the GI of different biscuit composition using an engineered small intestine system, considering a mass transfer approach and in-silico simulation. Different GI was predicted for biscuits: 62 for plain biscuits (N) containing only refined wheat flour; 57 for finger millet flour biscuits (F); 51 for wheat bran fortified biscuits (W). The results were close to human in-vivo values; GI of 76 for plain biscuits (N); 58 for finger millet biscuits (F) and 41 for wheat bran fortified (W) biscuits, respectively (with no significant difference in the GI values of Engineered model and human glucose blood sampling results) which was confirmed with Bland-Altmann statistics. This finding will help in predicting the glycemic response of new biscuit products serving as an alternative approach to human blood sampling for GI analysis.