Consumer perception of original and modernised traditional foods of Indonesia.

Technological development in traditional foods is not always in line with consumer acceptability. This study aimed to determine consumer perception of selected Indonesian traditional food products in their original and modernised versions. An internet-based survey (N = 310) was distributed to validate the perception of Indonesian food products using pictures and descriptions. The participated respondents met these criteria: (1) they were familiar with the traditional foods in this survey; and (2) they recognized and had used modernised traditional foods in this survey at least once. Seventeen products (tempe usar, tempe ragi, hygienic tempe, homemade sambal, sambal in a jar, sambal sprinkles, fresh coconut milk, UHT coconut milk, coconut milk powder, gudeg kendil, gudeg besek, boxed gudeg, canned gudeg, ground seasoning, instant seasoning paste, dadih, and yoghurt), were described to gauge consumer perception of the following variables: Modern, Traditional, Original, Authentic, Natural and Hedonic response. Partial Least Square Regression was performed to generate an overview of the product and variable variation. The results showed that the variable Modern was inversely correlated with the remaining variables, including the Hedonic response. The UHT coconut milk, coconut milk powder, instant seasoning paste, canned gudeg, sambal in a jar, sambal sprinkles, yoghurt, and hygienic tempe were perceived as the most Modern. In contrast, products that were perceived as Traditional were more preferred, including homemade sambal, ground seasoning, gudeg kendil, gudeg besek, tempe usar, and fresh coconut milk. This study shows the effect of modernisation on consumer perception and how it correlates to overall liking. Consumers' background psychographics such as the Food Neophobia Scale and attitude towards traditional food (ATTF) questionnaire have a significant effect on product perceptions, especially to the variables Hedonic, Modern, Authentic and Original.

Development of novel tools to measure food neophobia in children.

BACKGROUND: The main tool currently used to measure food neophobia (the Food Neophobia Scale, FNS, developed by Pliner & Hobden, 1992) may not remain optimal forever. It was developed around 25 years ago, and the perception and availability of "novel" and "ethnic" foods may have changed in the meantime. Consequently, there is a need for developing updated tools for measuring food neophobia. OBJECTIVE: To develop novel tools to measure food neophobia in children. DESIGN: Based on a review of 13 designs to assess food neophobia and willingness to try unfamiliar foods, a Food Neophobia Test Tool (FNTT) was developed. A questionnaire including the FNS, a 19-item FNTT, items about willingness to taste novel foods in different surroundings and a behavioral test was administered to 235 children aged 9-13 years. Reliability and validity of the FNS and FNTT were assessed through calculations of Cronbach's alpha, item-item and item-rest correlations. Comprehension issues related to tools were evaluated based on qualitative observations and finally, behavioral validity was assessed. RESULTS: A considerable number of children indicated difficulties understanding certain items in the original FNS. FNTT could be reduced to a 6- and 9-item tool with high validity (item-rest coefficients, r = 0.60-0.80). Internal consistency of the FNTT (Cronbach α ≥ 0.90) was higher relative to the FNS (Cronbach α ≥ 0.72). Scores from the FNTT correlated significantly (p < 0.05) with results from the behavioral test confirming construct validity of the FNTT as a measure of neophobic behavior. CONCLUSIONS: Results from this study provide evidence for the FNTT as reliable and valid tool for measuring food neophobia in children aged 9-13 years. Moreover, when modified, the FNS continue to produce reliable and valid results.

Changing children's eating behaviour - A review of experimental research.

The interest in children's eating behaviours and how to change them has been growing in recent years. This review examines the following questions: What strategies have been used to change children's eating behaviours? Have their effects been experimentally demonstrated? And, are the effects transient or enduring? Medline and Cab abstract (Ovid) and Web of Science (Thomson Reuters) were used to identify the experimental studies. A total of 120 experimental studies were identified and they are presented grouped within these 11 topics; parental control, reward, social facilitation, cooking programs, school gardens, sensory education, availability and accessibility, choice architecture and nudging, branding and food packaging, preparation and serving style, and offering a choice. In conclusion, controlling strategies for changing children's eating behaviour in a positive direction appear to be counterproductive. Hands-on approaches such as gardening and cooking programs may encourage greater vegetable consumption and may have a larger effect compared to nutrition education. Providing children with free, accessible fruits and vegetables have been experimentally shown to positively affect long-term eating behaviour. The authors recommend future research to examine how taste and palatability can positively affect children's attitudes and eating behaviour.

A review of instruments developed to measure food neophobia.

BACKGROUND: Food choices are influenced by an individual's attitude towards foods. Food neophobia may be associated with less variety of diets, inadequate nutrient intake and high product failure rate for new food products entering the market. To quantify the extent of these challenges, instruments to measure the food neophobia in different target groups are needed. Several such instruments with significantly different measurement outcomes and procedures have been developed. This review provides an overview and discusses strengths and weaknesses of these instruments. OBJECTIVE: We evaluate strengths and weaknesses of previously developed instruments to measure neophobia and willingness to try unfamiliar foods. DESIGN: Literature was searched through the databases Web of Science and Google Scholar. We identified 255 studies concerning neophobia and willingness to try unfamiliar foods. Of these, 13 studies encompassing 13 instruments to measure neophobia and willingness to try unfamiliar foods were included in the review. Results are summarized and evaluated with a narrative approach. RESULTS: In the 13 instruments to assess neophobia and willingness to try unfamiliar foods, 113 to 16.644 subjects aged 2-65 years were involved, scales with 3-7 response categories were used and behavioral validation tests were included in 6 studies. CONCLUSIONS: Several instruments to measure neophobia and willingness to try unfamiliar foods exist. We recommend selecting one or more among the 13 instruments reviewed in this paper to assess relevant aspects of neophobia.

Stimulus collative properties and consumers' flavor preferences.

The present work investigated consumers' hedonic response to flavor stimuli in light of Berlyne's collative-motivational model of aesthetic preferences. According to this paradigm, sensory preferences are a function of a stimulus' arousal potential, which is determined by its collative properties. The relationship between overall arousal potential and hedonic response takes the shape of an inverted "U", reaching an optimum at a certain level of arousal potential. In three independent studies, using different sets of novel beers as stimuli, consumers reported their hedonic response and rated three collative properties: novelty, familiarity and complexity. Relationships between these collative properties and hedonic ratings were explored by polynomial regression. The results revealed patterns in line with Berlyne's predictions (curvilinear relationship) with regard to perceived novelty, whereas mixed results were obtained for familiarity and complexity. Additionally, in two of the studies, the moderating role of relevant consumer characteristics - product knowledge, food neophobia and variety seeking tendency - was investigated. A consumer's degree of product knowledge was found to significantly reduce perceived complexity and novelty, ostensibly reflecting the learning that occurs with previous exposures.

The effect of sucrase-isomaltase deficiency on metabolism, food intake and preferences: protocol for a dietary intervention study.

In Greenland, traditional marine foods are increasingly being replaced by sucrose- and starch-rich foods. A knock-out c.273_274delAG variant in the sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene is relatively common in Greenland, with homozygous carriers being unable to digest sucrose and some starch. The variant is associated with a healthier metabolic phenotype in Greenlanders, which is confirmed by SI-knockout mice. We aim to assess if the healthy phenotype is explained by metabolic and microbial differences and if food and taste preferences differ between SI-genotypes. This paper describes the protocol for a randomised cross-over trial conducted in Greenland in 2022 with two dietary interventions of three days; a traditional meat- and fish-rich diet and a starch-rich Western diet with 11 energy% sucrose. The power calculation showed that 22 homozygous SI-carriers and 22 non-carriers were sufficient to detect a 0.5 mmol/L difference in glycaemic variability (80% power, α=0.05). We enrolled 18 carriers and 20 non-carriers. We examined food preferences at baseline and collected samples before and after each intervention for metabolic, metabolome, and microbiome profiling. Analyses of samples have not been completed yet. The Ethics Committee of Greenland approved the study. Results will be disseminated in international peer-reviewed journals and to the general Greenlandic population. NCT05375656.

Reported Changes in Dietary Habits During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Danish Population: The Danish COVIDiet Study.

This paper focuses on the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the dietary habits of adult Danes. Two aspects were specifically considered: 1) reported changes in intake of specific food categories and 2) effect on healthy eating, operationalized as adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MEDAS score). Respondents (N = 2,462) completed a 44-items self-administered online survey designed for the assessment of their socio-demographic characteristics, general food habits, and consumption frequency of selected foods (mainly related to the MedDiet) during the lockdown. The data indicated that the lockdown has affected dietary habits of adult Danes to a relatively limited degree. The most important findings were that a substantial proportion of respondents (≥28%) reported eating more, snacking more, exercising less, and gaining weight during the lockdown. Results could be linked to the amount of time spent at home (e.g., a higher cooking frequency) a higher degree of emotional eating during the lockdown (e.g., a higher consumption of pastries and alcohol). Women were generally affected to a higher degree than men. Additionally, dietary changes during the lockdown to a certain degree reflected pre-existing (un)healthy eating habits, as positive health outcomes were observed in respondents with a high MEDAS score and negative outcomes (e.g., weight gain and higher intakes of pastries and carbonated beverages) were associated with respondents with a low MEDAS score. These changes, if sustained long-term, are potentially concerning from a public health perspective, especially given that more than half of the respondents were characterized by a low adherence to the MedDiet.

Play with Your Food and Cook It! Tactile Play with Fish as a Way of Promoting Acceptance of Fish in 11- to 13-Year-Old Children in a School Setting-A Qualitative Study.

Despite a tradition of consuming fish in Denmark and despite the health benefits of eating fish, Danish children consume only one-third of the officially recommended amount of fish. The objective of this study was to explore an experiential and sensory-based exercise in a school setting with focus on tactile play and cooking as a way of promoting 11- to 13-year-old children's acceptance of fish. The design was a qualitative exploratory multiple-case design using participant observation in a school setting. Six classes were recruited from the Eastern part of Denmark (n = 132). Based on an exercise with cooking fish and gyotaku (fish print), four meta-themes were identified by applying applied thematic analysis: rejection, acceptance, craftsmanship, and interaction. Rejection and acceptance appeared along a rejection-acceptance continuum related to how the fish was categorised (animal, non-animal, food) in different phases of the experiment. Rejection was promoted by mucus, smell, animalness, and texture, whereas helping each other, tactile play, and craftsmanship promoted acceptance. In conclusion, this study found that tactile play combined with cooking could be a way of promoting acceptance of fish. The findings also support a school setting as a potential gateway in promoting healthy food behaviour.

Fermentation as a driver for food innovation.

The following paper is reviewing the current trends in research connected to fermentation, highlighting the work carried out in the various research kitchens that have gained a new understanding of fermentation in the recent years. The reflection on the developments made both on microbiological as well on the technological level aims to create pathways within the research fields in order to foster new innovations within the food production system.

Liking and exposure: first, second and tenth time around.

The future liking may be poorly predicted from hedonic ratings in first exposure. The stability of hedonic ratings as a function of differences in number of exposures was studied. 80 subjects (70 females; age=17-59 years, mean=25.5 years, S.D.=6.7 years) performed hedonic rating of 9 different stimuli (vanilla-flavored yogurts), all of which were different in sensory properties. Yogurts varied systematically in three experimental factors: total protein, sugar and vanilla flavor concentration. In first exposure, yogurts high in sweetness and with low vanilla intensity were rated as most liked. Subjects were divided in two equal groups of 40 persons and exposed to the stimuli different numbers of times: two and ten. There were no significant differences in changes of liking ratings between the two groups. Results indicate that liking of yogurts, traditionally eaten for breakfast in Denmark, measured by groups is relatively stable over exposures. However, summarizing results over groups covers that there are large individual differences in changes of liking ratings. 11.6% of the 720 analyzed changes in liking ratings were larger that 7.5 cm, corresponding to half the size of the scale.

Food for patients at nutritional risk: a model of food sensory quality to promote intake.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The aim was to investigate food sensory quality as experienced and perceived by patients at nutritional risk within the context of establishing a framework to develop foods to develop foods to promote intake. METHODS: Patients at nutritional risk (NRS-2002; food intake ≤ 75% of requirements) were observed at meals in hospital (food choice, hunger/fullness/appetite scores). This was followed by a semi-structured interview based on the observations and focusing on food sensory perception and eating ability as related to food quality. Two weeks post-discharge, a 3-day food record was taken and interviews were repeated by phone. Interviews were transcribed, coded, and analysed thematically. RESULTS: Patients (N = 22) from departments of gastrointestinal surgery, oncology, infectious medicine, cardiology, and hepatology were interviewed at meals (N = 65) in hospital (82%) and post-discharge (18%). Food sensory perception and eating ability dictated specific food sensory needs (i.e., appearance, aroma, taste, texture, temperature, and variety defining food sensory quality to promote intake) within the context of motivation to eat including: pleasure, comfort, and survival. Patients exhibited large inter- and intra-individual variability in their food sensory needs. CONCLUSIONS: The study generated a model for optimising food sensory quality and developing user-driven, innovative foods to promote intake in patients at nutritional risk.