Bringing down barriers to children's healthy eating: a critical review of opportunities, within a complex food system.

This narrative review revises the scientific evidence of recent years on healthy eating in children and adolescents, making sense of promising avenues of action, from a food system perspective. A conceptual framework is provided to better understand how eating habits of children and adolescents are shaped to identify key multisectoral approaches that should be implemented to promote healthier diets. The following influencing factors are discussed: individual factors (physiological and psychological factors, food preferences and food literacy competencies), factors within the personal and socio-cultural food environments, external food environments, and the supply chain. In each section, the main barriers to healthy eating are briefly discussed focussing on how to overcome them. Finally, a discussion with recommendations of actions is provided, anchored in scientific knowledge, and transferable to the general public, industry, and policymakers. We highlight that multidisciplinary approaches are not enough, a systems approach, with a truly holistic view, is needed. Apart from introducing systemic changes, a variety of interventions can be implemented at different levels to foster healthier diets in children through fostering healthier and more sustainable food environments, facilitating pleasurable sensory experiences, increasing their food literacy, and enhancing their agency by empowering them to make better food related decisions. Acknowledging children as unique individuals is required, through interpersonal interactions, as well as their role in their environments. Actions should aim to enable children and adolescents as active participants within sustainable food systems, to support healthier dietary behaviours that can be sustained throughout life, impacting health at a societal level.

Comparing a product-specific versus a general emoji list to measure consumers' emotional associations with chocolate and predict food choice.

Emoji have been proposed as a way to get additional insights in how consumers perceive food products. Recent works have indicated that emoji are able to provide distinctive emotional associations with food products, regardless of whether one is using the check-all-that-apply (CATA) or the rate-all-that-apply (RATA) scaling approach. Typically, in examining emotional associations one can work with either a general list which can be used with all food products or a product-specific emotion list. To date, a comparison between the performance of a general and product-specific emoji list with adults is lacking. Moreover, it is unclear to which extent emotional data of emoji help to better predict the actual food choice of adult consumers. Using five samples of chocolates, this study compared the use of a general list of 39 emoji with a product-specific list of 20 emoji (based upon input of 32 consumers). In total, 138 consumers assessed the samples using the general list while 136 consumers evaluated the samples with the product-specific emoji list. The RATA approach was used for the evaluation of the samples and the actual food choice was registered as participants received a snack portion of the chosen sample to take home. Results indicated that, considering the frequency of selection, 10 emoji discriminated between the samples for both the general and product-specific lists. Similar results were obtained when considering the rating intensities. Including emoji did not lead to a significant increase in the food choice prediction regardless the type of list used. However, emoji data obtained from the product-specific emoji list was able to predict the food choice as accurate as the liking data when using the RATA intensity scores. This study suggests that both general and product-specific emoji lists are able to generate distinguishing emotional profiles for chocolate samples. While further research is necessary with other food products and measurement methods (e.g. CATA), this study proposes that emoji measurements might be an alternative to liking data in order to be better understand of consumers' food choice.

Bacterial levels and diversity in kitchen sponges and dishwashing brushes used by consumers.

AIMS: The purpose of the work was to investigate bacterial levels and diversity as well as survival of Salmonella in used dish washing sponges and brushes and identify consumer practices that can potentially explain bacterial status of these items. METHODS AND RESULTS: Used washing up utensils were collected from consumers. The bacterial numbers (TVC) were very variable with an extremely high median level (10.3 log cfu/item) in Portuguese sponges and lower levels in Norwegian items (7.3 and 7.0 cfu/item for sponges and brushes). No self-reported practices or household composition could explain differences found in TVC levels among the collected sponges. Lower mean TVC levels were found in unworn brushes and brushes regularly cleaned with soap, but the differences were modest (1.5 log or less). A common set of bacteria was found in brushes and sponges, dominated by Acinetobacter, Chryseobacterium, Enhydrobacter, Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas. There was no difference in TVC or bacterial diversity between conventional and antimicrobial sponges containing silver after 4 weeks of use. For used brushes inoculated with Salmonella and allowed to dry overnight, a significant reduction in Salmonella numbers was observed. No reduction was observed for brushes stored in humid conditions (in a plastic bag) or for sponges regardless of storing conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, lower bacterial levels were observed in used brushes than in sponges, and Salmonella died more rapidly in brushes. A common set of non-pathogenic bacteria dominated in brushes and sponges. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: The study demonstrates that the use of brushes may be more hygienic than the use of sponges.

Does Responsiveness to Basic Tastes Influence Preadolescents' Food Liking? Investigating Taste Responsiveness Segment on Bitter-Sour-Sweet and Salty-Umami Model Food Samples.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationships between taste responsiveness and food liking in preadolescents. Model food samples of grapefruit juice (GF) and vegetable broth (VB) modified with four additions of sucrose and sodium chloride, respectively, were employed. Intensity perception for sweetness, sourness, and bitterness were measured in GF while saltiness and umami were measured in VB. The children (N = 148) also completed food choice, familiarity, stated liking and neophobia questionnaires. The test was conducted at school, with instructions provided remotely via video call. Four segments were defined differing in basic taste responsiveness. Segments and sucrose concentrations significantly affected liking for GF, while no significant effect of segments and sodium chloride concentrations occurred on liking for VB. An increasing sucrose concentration was positively associated with liking for GF only in the segment with low responsiveness to bitter and sour tastes. No significant differences across segments were found for food choice, familiarity, stated liking, and neophobia. Conclusively, relationships between taste responsiveness and liking are product and basic taste-dependent in addition to being subject-dependent. Strategies to improve acceptance by using sucrose as a suppressor for warning sensations of bitterness and sourness can be more or less effective depending on individual responsiveness to the basic tastes.

Intake of Fibre-Associated Foods and Texture Preferences in Relation to Weight Status Among 9-12 Years Old Children in 6 European Countries.

Plant foods, rich in fibre, can offer textures that children find difficult to orally manipulate, resulting in low preferences but are important for a healthy diet and prevention of overweight in children. Our aim was to investigate preferences for food texture, intake of fibre-associated foods and the relation to BMI. Three hundred thirty European children (9-12 years, 54% female) indicated their texture preferences using the Child-Food-Texture-Preference- Questionnaire (CFTPQ), and their parents responded on fibre-associated food consumption and anthropometric information. BMI was significantly lower for children with higher intake of wholegrain alternatives of common foods; in addition to being significantly influenced by country and the wearing of a dental brace. Overall BMI-for-age-percentiles (BMI_pct) were negatively associated with the consumption of wholegrain cereals, white pasta and wholemeal products and positively associated with the intake of legumes and white biscuits. In males, BMI_pct were negatively associated with wholegrain products and dried fruits, and in females, positively with legume consumption. A few country-related associations were found for BMI_pct and wholegrain biscuits, seeds and nuts and refined products. No overall correlation was found between BMI_pct and the texture preference of soft/hard foods by CFTPQ, except in Austria. We conclude that this study revealed evidence of a connection between fibre-associated foods and children's BMI at a cross-cultural level and that sex is an important determinant of fibre-associated food intake and the development of overweight in childhood.

Dishwashing sponges and brushes: Consumer practices and bacterial growth and survival.

Sponges are frequently used in kitchens and have been shown to harbor large numbers of bacteria, occasionally also pathogens. Less is known about kitchen brushes regarding usage and presence of bacteria. In the present study, the use of sponges and brushes was studied in a survey among 9966 European consumers in ten countries, and growth and survival of bacteria in sponges and brushes were examined in laboratory experiments. Sponges were the preferred hand-cleaning utensils for washing-up in the majority of countries, while brushes were most frequently used in Denmark and Norway. Consumers mostly change their sponges at regular times, but also sensory cues (looks dirty, smelly, slimy) and usage occurrences such as wiping up meat juices may trigger replacement. Besides cleaning the dishes, over a quarter of the dish brush users also use it to clean a chopping board after soilage from chicken meat juices. The water uptake and drying rate varied considerably, both between different sponges and between brushes and sponges, where brushes dried fastest. Campylobacter survived one day in all sponges and Salmonella more than seven days in two of three types of sponges. In the type of sponge that dried slowest, Salmonella grew on the first day and was always found in higher levels than in the other sponges. Non-pathogenic bacteria grew in the sponges and reached levels around 9 log CFU/sponge. In brushes all types of bacteria died over time. Campylobacter and Salmonella were reduced by more than 2.5 log to below the detection limit after one and three days, respectively. Bacteriota studies revealed a tendency for a dominance by Gram-negative bacteria and a shift to high relative prevalence of Pseudomonas over time in sponges. Both enumeration by agar plating and bacteriota analysis confirmed that the pathogens were in a minority compared to the other bacteria. Treatments of sponges and brushes with chlorine, boiling or in the dishwasher were effective to reduce Salmonella. We conclude that brushes are more hygienic than sponges and that their use should be encouraged. Contaminated sponges or brushes should be replaced or cleaned when they may have been in contact with pathogenic microorganisms, e.g. used on raw food spills. Cleaning of sponges and brushes with chlorine, boiling or dishwasher may be a safe alternative to replacing them with new ones.

Yuck, This Biscuit Looks Lumpy! Neophobic Levels and Cultural Differences Drive Children's Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) Descriptions and Preferences for High-Fibre Biscuits.

Food neophobia influences food choice in school-aged children. However, little is known about how children with different degrees of food neophobia perceive food and to what extent different sensory attributes drive their liking. This paper explores liking and sensory perception of fibre-rich biscuits in school-aged children (n = 509, age 9-12 years) with different degrees of food neophobia and from five different European countries (Finland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom). Children tasted and rated their liking of eight commercial biscuits and performed a Check-All-That-Apply task to describe the samples and further completed a Food Neophobia Scale. Children with a higher degree of neophobia displayed a lower liking for all tasted biscuits (p < 0.001). Cross-cultural differences in liking also appeared (p < 0.001). A negative correlation was found between degree of neophobia and the number of CATA-terms used to describe the samples (r = -0.116, p = 0.009). Penalty analysis showed that degree of food neophobia also affected drivers of biscuit liking, where particularly appearance terms were drivers of disliking for neophobic children. Cross-cultural differences in drivers of liking and disliking were particularly salient for texture attributes. Further research should explore if optimizing appearance attributes could be a way to increase liking of fibre-rich foods in neophobic children.

Organic Consumer Choices for Nutrient Labels on Dried Strawberries among Different Health Attitude Segments in Norway, Romania, and Turkey.

Consumer interest towards healthy food is driving the growth of the organic food market because consumers perceive organic food products to improve their personal health. Berries have well-known health benefits and show increasing market shares in European markets. This manuscript investigates for the first time how health attitudes relate to organic consumers' choices for nutrient labels of organic dried strawberry products. We conducted an online survey with 614 consumers from Norway, Romania, and Turkey. All participants consumed and liked strawberries and purchased organic food at least once a month. Participants filled out attitudinal questionnaires and conducted an experimental choice task featuring paired images of packaged organic dried strawberries varying in nutrients content label and other factors. The pooled sample was split into three groups of varying health attitudes for profiling and choice analysis. The results show that broad variations exist in health attitudes among Norwegian, Romanian, and Turkish organic consumers. A non-linear effect of health attitude is revealed, where a moderate health attitude is more strongly associated with the selection of products with increased nutrients content than either a low or a high health attitude. The results highlight the complexity in targeting nutrition labels to organic consumers. Finally, implications and suggestions for organic food operators are discussed along with future research avenues.

Effects of Varying the Color, Aroma, Bitter, and Sweet Levels of a Grapefruit-Like Model Beverage on the Sensory Properties and Liking of the Consumer.

Color, aroma, sweet, and bitter tastes contribute to the sensory perception of grapefruit juice. Consumers differ about liking grapefruit. A reason is the bitter taste that characterize the fruit. The objective was to determine the effect of varying the color (red or yellow), aroma (two levels), bitterness (three levels), and sweetness (three levels) of a grapefruit-like model beverage, on consumers' liking and perception of its sensory properties. The sensory profiles of thirty-six grapefruit-like beverages, created on the basis of a factorial design, has been described. Consumers rated their liking of color, aroma, and flavor of the twelve most diverse beverages. Bitter and sweet levels of the beverages had a significant effect on the flavor and aftertaste attributes. Aroma concentration had a significant effect on the majority of the sensory attributes. Color had a significant effect on perception of some of the aroma attributes, as well as the grapefruit's flavor intensity. Consumers liked the red beverages more than the yellow ones, and those with low aroma over the high aroma intensity. Consumers preferred the low bitter/high sweet beverages. Pungent and grapefruit aroma were found to be negative drivers for liking of the aroma. Sweet and citrus flavors were found to be positive drivers and sour and bitter flavors were found to be negative drivers of flavor-preferences (or liking) of the tested beverages.

A cross-cultural perspective on feeling good in the context of foods and beverages.

The aim of the present research was to explore consumers' conceptualization of feeling good in relation to food and beverages from a cross-cultural perspective. Participants from 14 countries across 5 continents and covering 10 languages (N = 8325) responded to an online survey including word association and free listing tasks related to feeling good in the context of food and beverages. Results were analyzed using inductive coding: a list of main codes was generated in English for each of the tasks, after which native speakers for each language coded the responses. Codes were grouped into categories reflecting common themes from which eight dimensions were identified. Results showed that in the context of foods and beverages, feeling good was mainly associated with specific foods and sensory and hedonic properties. Across the 14 countries, 'Sweet and fat food', 'Fruit and vegetables', and 'Protein food' were the three food categories most associated with feeling good. Emotional aspects of food consumption ('Taste good' and emotions) were also relevant. Health and nutrition-related aspects were more relevant for consumers when they were asked to think about how foods and beverages would make them feel good in the future. In other words, food-related feeling good seems to be mainly driven by sensory pleasure at present, but it is also related to nutrition and health in the future. Differences in the strength of the associations between feeling good and the identified categories were found between countries, in line with the existence of cultural differences in food habits, as well as in the importance people attach to the characteristics of foods and beverages. Results from the present work provide insights on the impact of eating and drinking on feeling good in terms of emotional, physical and social aspects, and increase knowledge about the way food and drink can contribute to general well-being.

The development of basic taste sensitivity and preferences in children.

This study aims at understanding how preference and sensitivity to the basic tastes develop in the preschool years, and how the two relate to each other. To expand on the existing literature regarding taste preferences conducted in cross-sectional studies, a longitudinal design was applied with children from age four to six years old. During the springs of 2015, 2016, and 2017, 131 children born in 2011 were tested in their kindergartens. To investigate preferences for sweet, sour and bitter tastes, the children performed ranking-by-elimination procedures on fruit-flavored beverages and chocolates with three taste intensity levels. The beverages varied in either sucrose, citric acid, or the bitter component isolone. The chocolates varied in the bitter component theobromine from cocoa and sucrose content. Each year, the children also performed paired-comparison tasks opposing plain water to tastant dilutions at four concentrations. The stimuli consisted of the five basic tastes: sweet (sucrose) sour (citric acid monohydrate) umami (monosodium glutamate), salty (sodium chloride), and bitter (quinine hydrochloride dihydrate). Preference for sweetness levels increased with age, while preference for bitterness and sourness levels were stable. Concerning taste sensitivity, the children showed an increase in sensitivity for sourness and saltiness, a decrease for sweetness, and stability for umami and bitterness. A negative association was found between sweetness sensitivity and preference for sweetness. The study highlights different trajectories of sensitivity and preferences across tastes. On average, a reduction in sweetness sensitivity combined with an increase in preference for higher sweetness was observed from the age of four to six. The weak relationship between taste sensitivity and taste preference in our data suggests that taste preference development is shaped by a multitude of factors in addition to taste sensitivity.

Diet and Physical Activity Apps: Perceived Effectiveness by App Users.

BACKGROUND: Diet and physical activity apps are two types of health apps that aim to promote healthy eating and energy expenditure through monitoring of dietary intake and physical activity. No clear evidence showing the effectiveness of using these apps to promote healthy eating and physical activity has been previously reported. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify how diet and physical activity (PA) apps affected their users. It also investigated if using apps was associated with changes in diet and PA. METHODS: First, 3 semi-structured focus group discussions concerning app usability were conducted (15 app users and 8 nonusers; mean age 24.2 years, SD 6.4), including outcome measures such as motivations, experiences, opinions, and adherence. Results from the discussions were used to develop a questionnaire. The questionnaire, which contained questions about behavior changes, app usage, perceived effectiveness, and opinions of app usability, was answered by 500 Norwegians, with a mean age of 25.8 years (SD 5.1). RESULTS: App users found diet and PA apps effective in promoting healthy eating and exercising. These apps affected their actions, health consciousness, and self-education about nutrition and PA; and were also a part of their social lives. Over half of the users perceived that apps were effective in assisting them to eat healthily and to exercise more. Diet apps were more effective when they were frequently used and over a long period of time, compared to infrequent or short-term use (P=.01 and P=.02, respectively). Users who used diet and PA apps, perceived apps as more effective than users who only used one type of app (all P<.05). App users were better at maintaining diet and PA behaviors than nonusers (all P<.05). Young adults found apps fun to use, but sometimes time consuming. They wanted apps to be designed to meet their personal expectations. CONCLUSIONS: App usage influenced action, consciousness, self-education about nutrition and PA, and social life. It facilitated maintaining a healthy diet and exercising more. Diet and PA apps of the future can be further strengthened by being tailored to meet personal needs.

One technology does not fit all: profiling consumers of tender and tenderised beef steaks.

New production technologies can help the beef sector to improve eating quality, in particular the tenderness, of low-value meat cuts. This paper aims at profiling potential consumers for unprocessed tenderloin M. Psoas major, muscle profiled M. Infraspinatus and marinated by injection M. Semitendinosus in Belgium (n=108) and Norway (n=110). Consumers' hedonic expectations for the three beef cuts, along with their general attitudes towards beef and food technology, were collected in central location tests. Results show that tenderloin triggers the highest hedonic expectations and best appeals to consumers profiled with high beef involvement in both countries. Consumers' expectations for steaks from novel technologies vary with consumers' attitudes towards beef, food technology and food risks and their country of residence, resulting in three additional consumer profiles. Furthermore, general attitudinal profiles of beef consumers also differ between the two countries. The results are useful for the positioning of novel beef products within the two national markets.