Food perception, lifestyle, nutritional and health status in the older people: Typologies and factors associated with aging well.

The aging process is associated with physiological, sensory, psychological, and sociological changes likely to have an impact on food intake and the nutritional status. The present study aimed to explore the heterogeneity of the French older population (>65 years old) using a multidisciplinary approach. More specifically, the study aimed to highlight different typologies (i.e. clusters of individuals with similar characteristics) within the older population. We conducted face-to-face interviews and tests with 559 French older people, recruited from different categories of dependency (at home without help, at home with help, in nursing homes). Clustering analysis highlighted seven clusters. Clusters 1-3 contained 'young' older people (<80) with a good nutritional status; these clusters differed according to food preferences, the desire to have a healthy diet, or interest in food. Clusters 4-7 mainly contained 'old' older people (80+), with an increase in the nutritional risk from cluster 4 to cluster 7. Two of these clusters grouped healthy and active people with a good level of appetite, while the two other clusters were associated with a clear decline in nutritional status, with people suffering from eating difficulties or depression. The results raise the need to develop targeted interventions to tackle malnutrition and implement health promotion strategies among the seniors.

Development of a methodology to study typicity of PDO wines with professionals of the wine sector.

BACKGROUND: Today, many agricultural products claiming a link to their origin and typicity receive a warm welcome on the market. Nevertheless, the notion of typicity is blurred for consumers and needs to be objectified for communication purposes. This study aims at formalizing a methodology for studying typicity of terroirs, with PDO wines as an example, using a participatory approach with professionals of the wine sector from terroirs, using focus group and tasting. The vision of typicity of terroirs by professionals outside of these terroirs has been studied by a free word association task. RESULTS: This study allowed a clear distinguishing of the typicity of the studied terroirs. Professionals from terroirs identified the global conceptual typicity of their terroirs using various factors, mainly soil, geography and grape variety, whereas professionals outside terroirs expressed their visions of terroirs by reputation or sensory characteristics of wines. Tasting results showed a discrimination of wines based on their typicity and highlighted descriptors involved in sensory perceptual typicity for each studied terroir. CONCLUSIONS: Professionals from terroirs share a common vision of their typicity and identify more typicity factors than professionals outside terroirs. Sensory typicity has been highlighted for five of the six terroirs studied, according to the various descriptors. The study of two populations, from and outside terroirs, shows the gap between the typicities identified by professionals from terroirs and those perceived by professionals outside terroirs. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

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.

Sensory and instrumental texture measurements for assessing grape seed parameters during fruit development.

BACKGROUND: The evolution of the sensory and instrumental properties of grape seeds was investigated during berry development, with a focus on the effects of the harvest season and growing location. RESULTS: The sensory and instrumental texture analyses gave a consistent description of the ripening process. Moreover, the effect of maturation on the seed sensory descriptors was clearly influenced by the harvest season, and astringency was the most appropriate sensory attribute for the assessment of grape seed ripening. Except for seed cracking, which was positively correlated with fracturability (R = 0.69) and toughness (R = 0.68) in 2006, the compression parameters were generally not correlated with the sensory textural attributes but were more likely correlated with other sensory attributes such as astringency and vegetal aroma. The compression indices showed a logarithmic behaviour pattern during grape development, and seed stiffness was shown to be the most valuable textural index for parcel discrimination and identification of the optimal grape harvesting date. CONCLUSION: This research showed that both seed sensory attributes and instrumental texture properties are indicators of grape ripening. However, these properties could be affected by the harvest season and growing location. As no clear correlation was found between the seed sensory attributes and instrumental texture parameters, a revision of the sensory method available in the literature could be suggested.

The Impact of "Wine Country of Origin" on the Perception of Wines by South African and French Wine Consumers: A Cross-Cultural Comparison.

Culture is an important factor that influences how marketing interacts with food choice. This study aims at exploring the effect of consumers' Country of Origin (COO) on wine representations and perception using Chenin blanc as a model. The first objective was to evaluate the role of origin in the construction of the representation. We used the theoretical framework of social representation to compare South African (SA) and French consumers' representations via a word association task. The results indicated that SA representations are dominated by consumers' experience of the wine (sensory and emotional dimensions), whereas French representations are dominated by the wine itself, in particular its origin and mode of consumption. The second objective was to evaluate the effect of origin on wine categorization in two conditions: with and without information concerning the two geographical origins of the samples. Results showed that providing information on the origin of the wines affected French participants more than SA participants. In both conditions, the groups of wines formed in the sorting tasks by SA participants were based on sensory descriptors and appeared not to be impacted by the information on origin. In contrast, providing information on the origin of the wines to French participants led to an increased use of the words "Loire", "South Africa" and "familiar" suggesting a different sorting strategy more deliberately based on the origin of the wines. Our findings have important implications for the marketing and export activities within the wine industry.

How oral health and food sensory properties impact oral comfort during consumption of apples: A comparative approach in seniors and young adults.

Difficulties encountered during oral processing may cause food avoidance and increase the risk of malnutrition in older adults. The present survey aimed at comparing oral comfort experienced during consumption of apples in elderly and younger people. To do this, 122 participants divided into a senior group (65-83 years) and a control group (35-64 years) rated three varieties of apples (Gala, Granny Smith, Honey Crunch) using a "food comfortability" questionnaire related to general comfort, bolus formation, pain, texture, and taste sensations, and were assessed for their oral conditions. Each score of the "food comfortability" questionnaire was then submitted to a global principal component analysis and an analysis of variance. Apple variety was a significant factor for all items of the questionnaire. Age significantly affected dental pain, crunchiness, and melting sensation, with increased scores for pain and melting perception, and decreased scores for crunchiness when aging. Global comfort experienced while eating apple was also impacted by dental status and resting saliva flow rate. Bolus moistening was related to stimulated saliva flow rate, and its fragmentation was dependant on denture use. Painful sensations depended on self-reported oral quality of life and sweet taste perception was influenced by the presence of oral mucosal disease. Apple variety is a good predictor of oral comfort experienced while eating. Altough age has a little effect on pain and texture perception, oral conditions such as missing teeth or denture use also contribute to oral comfort when consuming apples.

Comprehensive sensory and chemical data on the flavor of 16 red wines from two varieties: Sensory descriptive analysis, HS-SPME-GC-MS volatile compounds quantitative analysis, and odor-active compounds identification by HS-SPME-GC-MS-O.

This paper describes data collected on 2 sets of 8 French red wines from two grape varieties: Pinot Noir (PN) and Cabernet Franc (CF). It provides, for the 16 wines, (i) sensory descriptive data obtained with a trained panel, (ii) volatile organic compounds (VOC) quantification data obtained by Headspace Solid Phase Micro-Extraction - Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and (iii) odor-active compounds identification by Headspace Solid Phase Micro-Extraction - Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry - Olfactometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS-O). The raw data are hosted on an open-access research data repository [1].

The effects of sous-vide cooking parameters on texture and cell wall modifications in two apple cultivars: A response surface methodology approach.

This work aimed at evaluating the effects of sous-vide cooking parameters, such as time and temperature and their interactions, on textural attributes of 'Mondial Gala' and 'Granny Smith' apple cultivars. For this, different response surface methodology-based models were developed. This methodology proved a suitable means for the assessment of changes in textural parameters and cell wall modifications during the processing of apples. 'Mondial Gala' fruit displayed better aptitude for the preservation of textural properties after high-temperature processing conditions and were therefore apparently more suited to sous-vide cooking than 'Granny Smith' apples. Pectin methylesterase activity levels in 'Mondial Gala' apples were enhanced at mild temperatures and pectins in this cultivar displayed a lower degree of methylation. Therefore, the establishment of calcium-mediated linkages between cell wall polymers might have been favoured in 'Mondial Gala' apples, thus reinforcing tissues and improving the preservation of textural attributes, in comparison to 'Granny Smith' samples.

Characterization of odor-active volatiles in apples: influence of cultivars and maturity stage.

The aroma and texture of three different apple cultivars, harvested at three maturity stages, were analyzed by sensory and instrumental analysis. The emphasis was on the identification of the most potent odorant volatiles, and the challenge was to separate the few most important flavor compounds, which may be trace chemicals, from the vast number of nonodorant compounds present in apple aroma extracts. Thirty-six odorant compounds were detected, 24 of which were common to all extracts. A significant correlation coefficient was found between the aroma intensity scores and overall quantity of the odorant volatiles, which shows that the development of sensory aroma is similar to that of odorant volatiles. This study also showed that the parameters measured by penetrometry and compression were highly correlated with sensory textural attributes. The determination of the optimal maturity stage for different apple cultivars by the usual parameters, such as color, diameter, total soluble solids, and titrable acidity, may not be sufficient to determine the optimal sensory quality for consumers. Moreover, the sensory quality of fruits changes during maturation in a different way from one cultivar to another, and this should be taken into account.