In Europe the percentage of citizens aged 65 and over is increasing at an unprecedented rate, and is expected to account for over 30% of the population by 2050. Coupled with an increase in life expectancy, this massive demographic change calls for a major effort to ensure quality of life in our older population. A thorough understanding of the elderly as food consumers, their nutritional needs, their food perception and preferences are increasingly needed. The role of food in healthy aging was a prominent theme at the 6th European Conference on Sensory and Consumer Research, which had quality of life across the life span as a focal point. This short paper is based on a workshop held at the EuroSense meeting, focusing on research from sensory and consumer scientists. The workshop featured contributions focusing on food-related perception, needs and behavior of the elderly, and aimed at demonstrating the relevance of sensory and consumer scientists in promoting food-related well-being in an aging population. The workshop contributions are here reviewed and summarized three main themes: nutritional needs, food perception and aging, and behavioral drivers of food consumption.

In several studies, it has been found that repeated exposure to a novel food increases children’s acceptance of the exposure food. The present study, investigated how repeated exposure influences the acceptance of two Nordic berry juices, and whether the development depends on initial liking of the product, in 9–11 year-old children. The study had 317 participants. Two groups of children were exposed to either sea-buckthorn (n = 92) or aronia (n = 105) juice eight times, and performed two follow-up sessions 3 and 6 months after the 8th exposure. A third group (n = 120) served as controls. During pre and post-test sessions all participating children evaluated acceptance of both juices.

Intake of sea-buckthorn juice increased significantly over the eight exposures (55.1 ± 7.3 till 108.8 ± 12.3) and remained high after 6 months (131.1 ± 13.2). Intake of aronia juice was only increased at follow-up sessions. Liking did not develop significantly for any of the juices across exposures. When children were grouped by their initial liking increased intake across exposures was observed regardless of initial liking of sea-buckthorn. Liking developed similarly for both juices. A significant increase was found for the ‘initial dislikers’ only. This study demonstrates how exposure effects are influenced by initial liking; it appears that changes in familiarity explain the changes seen for sea-buckthorn among ‘dislikers’. ‘Initial dislikers’ had the most benefit from repeated exposures, but did not reach ‘initial likers’ across eight exposures; more exposures in the group of ‘initial dislikers’ had possibly led to even higher liking and intake. The increased intake observed for ‘neutral likers’ and ‘initial likers’ of sea-buckthorn was not explained by increased familiarity or increased liking.

The sensory quality of broccoli stored in modified atmosphere packages was studied. Oriented polypropylene (OPP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) were used as packaging materials. The LDPE contained an ethylene-absorbing sachet. The samples were stored for I week, either at a constant temperature of 10 degreesC or for 3 days at 4 degreesC, followed by 4 days at 10 degreesC. The atmospheres that were developed inside the different packaging materials during storage differed significantly. After storage, the broccoli was evaluated both raw and cooked using a triangle test and a quantitative descriptive analysis. The triangle test showed significant differences in the smell of broccoli stored in different packaging materials after cooking. No differences were detected in the raw broccoli. The quantitative descriptive analysis showed significant differences in the fresh smell and flavour, the chewing resistance, and the crispness, between samples after cooking. Overall, including all the sensory properties studied, broccoli packaged in LDPE (5% O-2 7% CO2) that contained an ethylene absorber was perceived to be the sample most similar to fresh broccoli. There were no differences in weight loss between broccoli stored in the different packaging materials.

The most common way to analyse sensory dynamic measurements (time-intensity, TI) is to extract some characteristic parameters from the resulting curve such as 'intensity maximum' and 'area under the curve'. In order to get more information from TI data, a general mathematical model was developed. The model was based on the theory for ordinary differential equations. The solutions were characterised by their eigenvalues, which might be correlated to recipe and process. As an example, the temporal perception of chocolate flavour has been measured and modelled. In addition the classical characteristic TI parameters could easily be calculated by the model.

A questionnaire complemented with colour photographs was used to obtain information on dietary practices and preferences regarding home-prepared pork chops in a small (n = 151) sample of Swedish consumers. The results from the questionnaire were combined with analytical results from meat of different RN genotypes, and showed that fried chops from a pig that was carrying the RN- allele (high glycogen content) had a darker crust and contained lower levels of mutagenic heterocyclic amines (HCAs) than chops from a non-carrier (low glycogen content). In this study population, the intake of fried pork chops only contributed slightly to the total HCA exposure; the total monthly intake of mutagenic HCAs was on average 256 ng, ranging from 0 to 1982 ng/month. However, using lower frying temperatures and meat from pigs carrying the RN- allele can further reduce the intake. From the photographs, most of the respondents chose fried chops from the non-carrier, which would result in an average contribution to the monthly HCA intake of 359 +/- 402 ng (mean SD) compared to 35 +/- 60 ng/month for consumers who preferred the RN(-)Irn(+), chops. More than 20 times the amount of mutagenic HCAs was formed when frying chops of the non-carrier of the RN- allele at an initial pan temperature of 200 degreesC instead of 160 degreesC; 4.13 compared to 0.18 ng/g cooked meat. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A pre-school-based dietary survey, using 7-day records, was carried out in Sweden in the Stockholm area at 12 pre-schools; the survey included 109 of 131 participating children. The present study was designed to describe weekday and weekend food patterns, i.e. the frequency of consumption of food items and the contribution of energy and nutrient intake from different food groups, and to explore how foods are related in pre-school children's diet. At pre-school, all children except one ate vegetables and fruits about once a day, and all children consumed, on average, milk and cheese, meat products, bread and breakfast cereals and fats more than once a day. Milk and cheese products, bread and breakfast cereals and meat products were the primary source of energy and protein. The main source of dietary fibre was bread and breakfast cereals, potatoes and fruits. The “low-nutrient foods”, e.g. confectionery, buns, and soft drinks, contributed 20% of the energy during the weekdays and 33% during the weekend days. When all food groups (g/MJ) were analysed simultaneously in a Principal Components Analysis (PCA), 52% of the variation was explained. The food consumption data were described using four food clusters: milk and cheese products; bread and breakfast cereals; meat, potatoes and cooked cereals; confectionery, buns and soft drinks. In conclusion, the PCA seems to be a useful visual tool for elucidating how foods are related in the diet.

Basic taste solutions induce sensory perceptions via taste receptors and give rise to specific facial reactions. Many of these have been shown to be innate. The aim of this study was to explore relationships between the sensory perception of basic taste solutions at different concentrations and facial reactions. Basic taste solutions each at three levels plus water were served to a panel. The assessors individually identified quality, intensity and pleasantness. They were recorded during tasting and their facial reactions (based on FACS) were coded and analysed. Facial reactions indicated both quality and concentration of the stimuli. The intensity of most facial reactions increased with increasing stimulus concentration, most pronounced for sourness (lips) and bitterness (eyes and forehead). Pleasantness ratings decreased with increasing concentrations of all basic tastes. Water and the lowest sucrose concentration were perceived as the most pleasant samples and gave rise to the lowest intensity of facial reactions. The study showed that a combination of sensory analyses and facial expressions was successful in adding further insight to the knowledge of perception of basic tastes.

Time intensity (TI) data from earlier reported studies on cream cheese and salad dressing were used to develop models based on both polynomials and ordinary differential equations (ODE) that can be used to describe and interpret TI-data. Polynomials were thus fitted to experimental data. By taking the first and second derivatives of the polynomials one gets new polynomials that express how the perceived intensity changes with time. By integrating the original polynomial one gets a new polynomial that expresses how the classical TI-parameter "Area Under the Curve" is accumulated with time. Graphical display of all these types of polynomials gives an immediate and easily interpretable impression of the influence of different experimental factors on the time dependent perception. In the ODE models experimental factors, both formula and process conditions, were taken into account. Thus it was possible to develop equations that can be used for prediction of TI-curves for intermediate experimental settings.

When reducing fat content or replacing fat with thickener in reduced fat foods, flavour and texture may change. The objective of this study was to investigate effects of thickener and fat content on flavour and texture in low-fat foods. We used sourmilk with 0.1% or 4.2% fat where odour compounds with differing polarity, maltol or ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, were added. Sourmilk with: O.1 g 100 ml(-1) or 0.5 g 100 ml(-1) gelatine; 0.05 g 100 ml(-1) or 1.O g 100 ml(-1) pectin; or 0.65 g 100 ml(-1) or 0.9 g 100 ml(-1) xanthan added, and sourmilk without any thickener added, for each of the two odour compounds were manufactured. Sensory evaluation by descriptive profiling and viscosity measurements by Bohlin VOR were made. Perceived thickness increased with higher fat content and with increased concentration of thickener. Viscosity (measured by a Bohlin rheometer) did also increase with higher fat content and with increased concentration of thickener. Smell and flavour of maltol increased with higher fat content, while smell and flavour of ethyl 2-methylbutyrate were unaffected. Smell and flavour of the maltol were unaffected by all the thickeners, while smell and flavour of the ester were affected. Sourness was masked by all the thickeners.