Distinct Sensory Hedonic Functions for Sourness in Adults.

Over the last half-century, variable responses to sweetness have repeatedly been shown to fall into a small number of hedonic responses, implying that looking only at group means may can obfuscate meaningfully different response patterns. Comparative data for sourness is quite sparse, especially in adults. While increased liking with higher acid concentration has been reported for some children, in adults, sourness is classically assumed to be aversive, with a monotonic drop in liking with increasing sourness. Here, we test this assumption using a simple model system or experimental beverage in convenience samples of adults from the United States (increasing citric acid in water) and Italy (increasing citric acid in pear juice). Participants rated intensity and liking of sampled stimuli. For both cohorts, we find clear evidence of three distinct patterns of responses: a strong negative group where liking dropped with increased sourness, an intermediate group who showed a more muted drop in liking with more sourness, and a strong positive group where liking increased with more sourness. Strikingly, both cohorts showed similar proportions of response patterns, with ~63-70% in the strong negative group, and 11-12% in the strong positive group, suggesting these proportions may be stable across cultures. Notably, the three groups did not differ by age or gender. These data support the existence of different hedonic response profiles to sour stimuli in adults, once again highlighting the importance of looking at individual differences and potential consumer segments, rather than merely averaging hedonic responses across all individuals within a group.

Interventions based on sensory-hedonic strategies and on nudging to facilitate vegetable and pulses consumption in the school environment.

Childhood and adolescence shape lifelong taste preferences and dietary habits, making them crucial periods for promoting healthy and sustainable eating. As students consume up to half of their daily energy intake at school, school interventions can have a significant impact on promoting plant-based diets. Although the benefits of promoting plant-based diets on children's and adolescents' health and environmental sustainability are well established and various studies report promising effects of interventions based on sensory-hedonic strategies and on nudging in promoting vegetables and pulses in schools, a comprehensive collection of those reports is lacking. Therefore, this systematic review aims to collect published literature on the above interventions in schools that focus on promoting the consumption of vegetables and pulses to children and adolescents. Three databases-PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science-were searched over all years until March 2022 using pre-specified terms. From the 10.488 studies identified, a total of 57 studies reporting sensory-hedonic (e.g., manipulating food sensory properties or their hedonic value) or nudging (e.g., changing the presentation) interventions targeting children and/or adolescents in schools and aiming at promoting vegetables and/or pulses were included. Overall, interventions based on sensory-hedonic strategies (either enhancing the perception of well-accepted flavor and texture or manipulating their hedonic value) and on nudging (through incentives and prompts) are effective in promoting vegetables and pulses. A gap in the literature was identified for interventions targeting adolescents and promoting pulses. Finally, multicomponent interventions, rather than using one strategy alone, could be more successful.

Remote testing: Sensory test during Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.

Restrictions adopted by many countries in 2020 due to Covid-19 pandemic had severe consequences on the management of sensory and consumer testing that strengthened the tendency to move data collection out of the laboratory. Remote sensory testing, organized at the assessor's home or workplace and carried out under the live online supervision of the panel leader, represents a trade-off between adequate control and the convenience of conducting testing out of the lab. The Italian Sensory Science Society developed the "Remote sensory testing" research project aimed at testing the effectiveness and validity of the sensory tests conducted remotely through a comparison with evaluations in a classical laboratory setting. Guidelines were developed to assist panel leaders in setting up and controlling the evaluation sessions in remote testing conditions. Different methods were considered: triangle and tetrad tests, Descriptive Analysis and Temporal Dominance of Sensations tests, all of which involved trained panels, and Check-All-That-Apply and hedonic tests with consumers. Remote sensory testing provided similar results to the lab testing in all the cases, with the exception of the tetrad test run at work. Findings suggest that remote sensory testing, if conducted in strict compliance with specifically developed sensory protocols, is a promising alternative to laboratory tests that can be applied with both trained assessors and consumers even beyond the global pandemic.

ALTERTASTE: improving food pleasure and intake of oncology patients receiving chemotherapy.

ALTERTASTE is a prospective study to evaluate changes in taste/flavor perception and food preferences in patients treated with adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast or colorectal cancer. The study adopts a longitudinal approach. Taste and odor responsiveness, food preferences and habits, emotions elicited by foods, and quality of life will be measured at six-time points: before chemotherapy (T0), after two cycles (T1, after around 1 month), after four cycles (T2, after around 2 months), after six cycles (T3, after around 4 months), at the end of chemotherapy (T4, after around 6 months) and 3 months after the conclusion of the therapy (T5). In addition, patients will be characterized for oral responsiveness and their psychological traits and attitudes toward food. The ALTERTASTE trial is expected to improve the understanding of the impact of chemotherapy on taste and smell and the repercussions of these alterations on food behaviors. Furthermore, the trial aims to develop an easy and reliable procedure to test smell, taste and food behavior alterations to allow a routine measure with patients. Clinical trial registration: NCT04495387 (ClinicalTrials.gov).

Lay abstract Malnutrition (under- or over-nutrition) is highly prevalent in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy and is an important predictor of morbidity, mortality, treatment response and toxicity. Alterations in taste and smell are frequently reported as side effects of chemotherapy and may contribute strongly to malnutrition through an impact on eating behaviors and to a worse quality of life. ALTERTASTE is a prospective longitudinal study to evaluate changes in taste/flavor perception and food preferences in patients treated with chemotherapy for breast, colon or rectal cancer. Taste and odor responsiveness, food preferences and habits, emotions elicited by foods, and quality of life will be measured at six-time points: before chemotherapy (T0), after two cycles (T1, after around 1 month), after four cycles (T2, after around 2 months), after six cycles (T3, after around 4 months), at the end of chemotherapy (T4, after around 6 months) and 3 months after the conclusion of the therapy (T5). In addition, patients will be characterized for oral responsiveness and psychological traits and attitudes toward food. The ALTERTASTE trial is expected to improve the understanding of the impact of chemotherapy on taste and smell and the repercussions of these alterations on food behaviors.

Relationship between odor intensity estimates and COVID-19 prevalence prediction in a Swedish population.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries have implemented various strategies to reduce and slow the spread of the disease in the general population. For countries that have implemented restrictions on its population in a step-wise manner, monitoring of COVID-19 prevalence is of importance to guide decision on when to impose new, or when to abolish old, restrictions. We are here determining whether measures of odor intensity in a large sample can serve as one such measure. Online measures of how intense common household odors are perceived and symptoms of COVID-19 were collected from 2440 Swedes. Average odor intensity ratings were then compared to predicted COVID-19 population prevalence over time in the Swedish population and were found to closely track each other (r=-0.83). Moreover, we found that there was a large difference in rated intensity between individuals with and without COVID-19 symptoms and number of symptoms was related to odor intensity ratings. Finally, we found that individuals progressing from reporting no symptoms to subsequently reporting COVID-19 symptoms demonstrated a large drop in olfactory performance. These data suggest that measures of odor intensity, if obtained in a large and representative sample, can be used as an indicator of COVID-19 disease in the general population. Importantly, this simple measure could easily be implemented in countries without widespread access to COVID-19 testing or implemented as a fast early response before wide-spread testing can be facilitated.

Impact of a nudging intervention and factors associated with vegetable dish choice among European adolescents.

PURPOSE: To test the impact of a nudge strategy (dish of the day strategy) and the factors associated with vegetable dish choice, upon food selection by European adolescents in a real foodservice setting. METHODS: A cross-sectional quasi-experimental study was implemented in restaurants in four European countries: Denmark, France, Italy and United Kingdom. In total, 360 individuals aged 12-19 years were allocated into control or intervention groups, and asked to select from meat-based, fish-based, or vegetable-based meals. All three dishes were identically presented in appearance (balls with similar size and weight) and with the same sauce (tomato sauce) and side dishes (pasta and salad). In the intervention condition, the vegetable-based option was presented as the "dish of the day" and numbers of dishes chosen by each group were compared using the Pearson chi-square test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was run to assess associations between choice of vegetable-based dish and its potential associated factors (adherence to Mediterranean diet, food neophobia, attitudes towards nudging for vegetables, food choice questionnaire, human values scale, social norms and self-estimated health, country, gender and belonging to control or intervention groups). All analyses were run in SPSS 22.0. RESULTS: The nudging strategy (dish of the day) did not show a difference on the choice of the vegetable-based option among adolescents tested (p = 0.80 for Denmark and France and p = 0.69 and p = 0.53 for Italy and UK, respectively). However, natural dimension of food choice questionnaire, social norms and attitudes towards vegetable nudging were all positively associated with the choice of the vegetable-based dish. Being male was negatively associated with choosing the vegetable-based dish. CONCLUSIONS: The "dish of the day" strategy did not work under the study conditions. Choice of the vegetable-based dish was predicted by natural dimension, social norms, gender and attitudes towards vegetable nudging. An understanding of factors related to choosing vegetable based dishes is necessary for the development and implementation of public policy interventions aiming to increase the consumption of vegetables among adolescents.

Associations between human fungiform papillae and responsiveness to oral stimuli: effects of individual variability, population characteristics, and methods for papillae quantification.

Fungiform papillae (FP) on human tongue are the proxy structures designated to oral stimuli detection and transduction. However, the role of their density (fungiform papillae/cm2) in explaining oral sensitivity is still controversial. While early studies generally found that the responsiveness to oral stimuli increased as the number of papillae increased, recent large-scale studies failed to confirm this finding. The present paper reviews relevant studies dealing with the relationship between FP density and responsiveness to oral sensations including: fundamental tastes, 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil (PROP), and sensations from trigeminal stimulation. Manual methods and automated methods for papillae detection and quantification are reviewed and their advantages and limitations highlighted. The main factors affecting FP density and functionality (age, gender, pathologic impairments) are also considered. Possible bias related to methodological issues in counting technique (equipment used, area and location of the tongue to count, procedures to validate the count), population sample (demographics), and sensory response collection (threshold or supra-threshold stimuli, intensity scaling) are illustrated. The lack of information related to the variability in taste pores density and the possible impairments due to nerve damages, may obscure the relationship between FPD and oral responsiveness.

Individual Variation in PROP Status, Fungiform Papillae Density, and Responsiveness to Taste Stimuli in a Large Population Sample.

Despite considerable research investigating the role of 6-n-propylthiouracil bitterness perception and variation of fungiform papillae density in food perception, this relationship remains controversial as well as the association between the 2 phenotypes. Data from 1119 subjects (38.6% male; 18-60 years) enrolled in the Italian Taste project were analyzed. Responsiveness to the bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil was assessed on the general Labeled Magnitude Scale. Fungiform papillae density was determined from manual counting on digital images of the tongue. Solutions of tastes, astringent, and pungent sensations were prepared to be moderate/strong on a general Labeled Magnitude Scale. Four foods had tastants added to produce 4 variations in target sensations from weak to strong (pear juice: citric acid, sourness; chocolate pudding: sucrose, sweetness; bean purée: sodium chloride, saltiness; and tomato juice: capsaicin, pungency). Women gave ratings to 6-n-propylthiouracil and showed fungiform papillae density that was significantly higher than men. Both phenotype markers significantly decreased with age. No significant correlations were found between 6-n-propylthiouracil ratings and fungiform papillae density. Fungiform papillae density variation does not affect perceived intensity of solutions. Responsiveness to 6-n-propylthiouracil positively correlated to perceived intensity of most stimuli in solution. A significant effect of fungiform papillae density on perceived intensity of target sensation in foods was found in a few cases. Responsiveness to 6-n-propylthiouracil positively affected all taste intensities in subjects with low fungiform papillae density whereas there were no significant effects of 6-n-propylthiouracil in those with high fungiform papillae density. These data highlight a complex interplay between 6-n-propylthiouracil status and fungiform papillae density and the need of a critical reconsideration of their role in food perception and acceptability.

Comparing Manual Counting to Automated Image Analysis for the Assessment of Fungiform Papillae Density on Human Tongue.

The density of fungiform papillae (FPD) on the human tongue is currently taken as index for responsiveness to oral chemosensory stimuli. Visual analysis of digital tongue picture and manual counting by trained operators represents the most popular technique for FPD assessment. Methodological issues mainly due to operator bias are considered among factors accounting for the uncertainty about the relationships between FPD and responsiveness to chemosensory stimuli. The present study describes a novel automated method to count fungiform papillae (FP) from image analysis of tongue pictures. The method was applied to tongue pictures from 133 subjects. Taking the manual count as reference method, a partial least squares regression model was developed to predict FPD from tongue automated analysis output. FPD from manual and automated count showed the same normal distribution and comparable descriptive statistic values. Consistent subject classifications as low and high FPD were obtained according to the median values from manual and automated count. The same results on the effect of FPD variation on taste perception were obtained both using predicted and counted values. The proposed method overcomes count uncertainties due to researcher bias in manual counting and is suited for large population studies. Additional information is provided such as FP size class distribution which would help for a better understanding of the relationships between FPD variation and taste functions.

Inclusion of Hermetia illucens larvae meal on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) feed: effect on sensory profile according to static and dynamic evaluations.

BACKGROUND: Diet implementation with insect meal has aroused increased attention in aquaculture considering the advantages of this new protein source. The effect of Hermetia illucens meal (HI) inclusion in diets on rainbow trout physical-chemical and sensory properties was evaluated. Three diets were prepared: HI0, HI25, HI50, with 0, 25 and 50% of HI replacing fish meal, respectively. Fillet sensory profiles were described by descriptive analysis and temporal dominance of sensation methods. Cooking loss, Warner-Bratzler shear force, proximate analysis, and fatty acid composition were also determined. RESULTS: Diets significantly affected fillets sensory profile. Descriptive analysis indicated significant changes in perceived intensity of aroma, flavour and texture descriptors as a function of diet composition. Temporal dominance of sensation evaluations provided information on dominance and evolution of sensations perceived in fillets from different diets. The first sensations perceived as dominant were related to texture attributes, followed by flavours. Dominance of fibrousnesses decreased with the increase of HI in the diet. Boiled fish, algae flavours and umami taste clearly dominated the HI0 dynamic profile. The onset of metallic flavour dominance characterised HI25 and HI50. No differences in physical parameters were detected. Principal component analysis highlighted the relationship between sensory attributes and physico-chemical parameters. CONCLUSION: The sensory description of fillets indicated that HI inclusion induces significant differences in the perceived profile. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Increasing vegetable intakes: rationale and systematic review of published interventions.

PURPOSE: While the health benefits of a high fruit and vegetable consumption are well known and considerable work has attempted to improve intakes, increasing evidence also recognises a distinction between fruit and vegetables, both in their impacts on health and in consumption patterns. Increasing work suggests health benefits from a high consumption specifically of vegetables, yet intakes remain low, and barriers to increasing intakes are prevalent making intervention difficult. A systematic review was undertaken to identify from the published literature all studies reporting an intervention to increase intakes of vegetables as a distinct food group. METHODS: Databases-PubMed, PsychInfo and Medline-were searched over all years of records until April 2015 using pre-specified terms. RESULTS: Our searches identified 77 studies, detailing 140 interventions, of which 133 (81 %) interventions were conducted in children. Interventions aimed to use or change hedonic factors, such as taste, liking and familiarity (n = 72), use or change environmental factors (n = 39), use or change cognitive factors (n = 19), or a combination of strategies (n = 10). Increased vegetable acceptance, selection and/or consumption were reported to some degree in 116 (83 %) interventions, but the majority of effects seem small and inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS: Greater percent success is currently found from environmental, educational and multi-component interventions, but publication bias is likely, and long-term effects and cost-effectiveness are rarely considered. A focus on long-term benefits and sustained behaviour change is required. Certain population groups are also noticeably absent from the current list of tried interventions.

Sensory determinants of stated liking for vegetable names and actual liking for canned vegetables: A cross-country study among European adolescents.

Sensory properties are reported as one of the main factors hindering an appropriate vegetable intake by the young. In the present work the sensory determinants of likings for vegetables were explored in adolescents of four European countries (Denmark, n = 88; France, n = 206; Italy, n = 110 and United Kingdom, n = 93). A questionnaire was designed to study cross country differences in stated liking for and familiarity with a list of vegetables popular among European markets (between-vegetable approach). A within-vegetable comparison approach with actual tasting was used to analyze differences and similarities in liking for canned pea and sweet corn samples across the countries. A close positive relationship between stated liking and familiarity was found. Irrespective of the country, one group of highly liked vegetables (carrots, tomatoes, green salad) was identified, characterized by innately liked tastes (sweet, umami), delicate flavour and bright appealing colour. A second group of highly disliked vegetables consists of cauliflowers and broccoli, characterized by disliked sensations such as bitter taste and objectionable flavour. Internal Preference Maps from actual liking scores indicate that the generally disliked tastes (bitter, sour), are clearly correlated with a negative hedonic response for both peas and sweet corn. The hedonic valence of a generally well accepted taste such as salty and texture descriptors depends on the type of vegetable. Internal preference maps from actual liking data indicate that flavour and appearance descriptors of the distinct sensory properties of each type of vegetable positively affect liking, while the intensity of unusual flavours is related to sample disliking.

Influence of pig genetic type on sensory properties and consumer acceptance of Parma, San Daniele and Toscano dry-cured hams.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the sensory properties and acceptability of different Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) dry-cured hams. For each PDO, two genotypes were selected: IL×LW (reference hybrid) and Goland (commercial hybrid). RESULTS: According to descriptive analysis, genetic variance affected few attributes describing Toscano and San Daniele ham sensory quality. The commercial hybrid Parma ham was distinct from the traditional one, the Goland genotype being significantly higher in red color, saltiness, dryness and hardness and showing a lower intensity of pork-meat odor/flavor and sweetness than the IL×LW genotype. Consumer acceptance was mainly influenced by the PDO technology. A genotype effect on acceptance was only observed in Toscano ham. Principal component regression analysis revealed that Toscano ham was the preferred sample. Considering that the consumers involved were from Tuscany, it is likely that Toscano ham was preferred owing to their higher familiarity with this product. CONCLUSION: Sensory properties of ham samples were better discriminated according to their PDO than their genotype. Likewise, consumer liking was more affected by the specific PDO technology than by genetic type. Toscano ham was the most preferred and most familiar product among Tuscan consumers, indicating that familiarity with the product was the best driver of dry-cured ham preference.

Markers of sensory dynamics in phenols-rich virgin olive oils under optimal storage conditions.

Early changes in sensory quality of phenols-rich virgin olive oil (VOO) and their relationship with the chemical changes are less studied in the literature. Therefore, the objective of this study was to propose a predictive model of dynamics of sensory changes based on specific chemical markers. The evolution of the sensory quality of phenol-rich VOOs from Tuscan cultivars stored under optimal storage conditions (i.e., absence of light, no O2 exposure, low temperature) was investigated using a multi-step methodological approach combining sensory (official sensory analysis (so-called Panel Test), Descriptive Analysis and Temporal Dominance of Sensation) and chemical measurements. The sensory map from descriptive data was related to the phenolic and volatile profiles, measured using HPLC-DAD and HS-SPME-GC-MS, respectively. A predictive model of the sensory changes over storage based on chemical compounds was developed. Results showed that very early changes involving phenolic and volatile compounds profiles occur in VOOs stored under optimal storage conditions, which turn in changes in sensory properties evaluated by the official panel test, the descriptive analysis and the temporal dominance of sensation. Furthermore, a chemical marker of sensory dynamics of oils during storage was identified as the ratio between two groups of secoiridoids. The proposed model, supported by the mentioned chemical marker, has the potential of improving the control of sensory changes in phenols-rich virgin olive oils during storage in optimal conditions.

Factors affecting stated liking for meat products: Focus on demographics, oral responsiveness, personality, and psycho-attitudinal traits.

Demographics, anthropometrics, oral responsiveness to sensory stimuli and psycho-attitudinal traits were collected from a representative Italian population sample (n = 2384; 58% women, age 18-60 years) and considered as possible explanatory variables affecting meat liking. Differences in motives underlying individual variation in liking for meat were independently investigated by gender. Three groups of subjects were identified based on liking ratings: Slightly Likers, Likers and Lovers. Both common and gender-specific variables affecting liking for meat were identified. The interest in food (including its rewarding function) and eating experience, low food neophobia and relatively high Body Mass Index characterized meat Lovers irrespective to gender. The careful food selection and the food comforting function further characterized women meat Lovers. Men Slightly Likers were characterized by the interest for health-related food aspects, importance assigned to naturalness and restrained eating. Markers of oral responsiveness were ineffective for describing variation in liking for meat.

Exploring the association between oral tactile sensitivity measures and phenotypic markers of oral responsiveness.

This study investigated the individual variability in oral tactile sensitivity considering touch, by means of Von Frey Hair monofilaments (VFH) and spatial resolution, using the grating orientation test (GOT). The relationships of the two measures with 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP) responsiveness and fungiform papillae density and size were investigated. One hundred and forty-four subjects (48.6% women, aged 18-30) participated in the study. VFH and GOT thresholds were assessed by three-down/one-up staircase method. Responsiveness to 3.2 mM PROP was assessed on the general Labeled Magnitude Scale. Fungiform papillae density (FPD) and size were determined from automated counting. VFH thresholds appeared unsuitable to reveal individual variation in responsiveness to point-pressure on the tongue. The frequency of GOT thresholds approximated a normal distribution and covered the whole range of variation, thus indicating an ability to measure individual variation in oral tactile sensitivity. No significant linear correlations were found between any of the oral tactile sensitivity measures and PROP responsiveness, FPD total and size class. VFH and GOT thresholds were not significantly associated. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering was used to classify participants for their PROP responsiveness, total FPD and GOT threshold. Three clusters were identified, C1 (n = 67), Cl2 (n = 42), and Cl3 (n = 35), differing for PROP responsiveness and FPD only. Results encourage future studies to explore association between GOT and both perception and preference for different food texture. Furthermore, deeper investigation of individual variability in sensitivity to different types of oral tactile stimuli would be helpful to capture differences in tactile sensitivity among the most sensitive individuals.

Correction: Endrizzi et al. Relationships between Intensity and Liking for Chemosensory Stimuli in Food Models: A Large-Scale Consumer Segmentation. Foods 2022, 11, 5.

In the original publication [1], there was a mistake in "Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, and Figure 5" as published [...].

An olfactory self-test effectively screens for COVID-19.

Background: Key to curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic are wide-scale screening strategies. An ideal screen is one that would not rely on transporting, distributing, and collecting physical specimens. Given the olfactory impairment associated with COVID-19, we developed a perceptual measure of olfaction that relies on smelling household odorants and rating them online. Methods: Each participant was instructed to select 5 household items, and rate their perceived odor pleasantness and intensity using an online visual analogue scale. We used this data to assign an olfactory perceptual fingerprint, a value that reflects the perceived difference between odorants. We tested the performance of this real-time tool in a total of 13,484 participants (462 COVID-19 positive) from 134 countries who provided 178,820 perceptual ratings of 60 different household odorants. Results: We observe that olfactory ratings are indicative of COVID-19 status in a country, significantly correlating with national infection rates over time. More importantly, we observe indicative power at the individual level (79% sensitivity and 87% specificity). Critically, this olfactory screen remains effective in participants with COVID-19 but without symptoms, and in participants with symptoms but without COVID-19. Conclusions: The current odorant-based olfactory screen adds a component to online symptom-checkers, to potentially provide an added first line of defense that can help fight disease progression at the population level. The data derived from this tool may allow better understanding of the link between COVID-19 and olfaction.

Individual astringency responsiveness affects the acceptance of phenol-rich foods.

Sensory responses greatly vary between individuals, and individual sensory experiences influence eating behaviour. Three groups responding differently to phenolic astringent stimuli (Low Responding, LR, n=20, Medium Responding, MR, n=37 and High Responding, HR, n=20) were identified from a population of 77 subjects, based on the maintenance vs fluctuation of salivary characteristics after repeated stimulation of the masticatory and taste/somatosensory systems. The effect of LR, MR and HR status on perceived astringency and liking for phenol-containing apple, grape and carrot juices spiked with increasing tannic acid (TA) concentrations was examined. TA induced a greater increase of perceived astringency in HR, compared to MR and LR subjects. A decrease in liking for spiked juices was found in HR and to a lesser extent in MR and LR subjects. No significant differences were found comparing MR and LR groups for both astringency intensity and liking data. Liking for and familiarity with 37 food items, as well as preference for 14 phenol-rich foods and beverages, each paired with a less astringent counter-product, were also examined. An internal preference map was computed on liking scores and product subgroups were identified. An effect of LR/HR status was found for two food subgroups consisting of coffee without sugar, tea without sugar, raw chicory and milk chocolate, tea with sugar, coffee with sugar. LR subjects rated the products with the most astringency higher and those with the least astringency lower than did HR subjects. LR subjects also rated their familiarity with highly astringent products higher than did HR subjects. Thus, individual differences related to the physiological salivatory response to oral stimulations affect responses to astringent stimuli and can influence the overall acceptability of phenol-rich food items.

Food Preferences and Obesity.

Obesity is a multifactorial disease with several potential causes that remain incompletely understood. Recent changes in the environment, which has become increasingly obesogenic, have been found to interact with individual factors. Evidence of the role of taste responsiveness and food preference in obesity has been reported, pointing to a lower taste sensitivity and a higher preference and intake of fat and, to a lesser extent, sweet foods in obese people. Studies in the last decades have also suggested that individual differences in the neurophysiology of food reward may lead to overeating, contributing to obesity. However, further studies are needed to confirm these findings. In fact, only a limited number of studies has been conducted on large samples, and several studies were conducted only on women. Larger balanced studies in terms of sex/gender and age are required in order to control the confounding effect of these variables. As many factors are intertwined in obesity, a multidisciplinary approach is needed. This will allow a better understanding of taste alteration and food behaviours in obese people in order to design more effective strategies to promote healthier eating and to prevent obesity and the related chronic disease risks.