The association between the colour of a container and the liquid inside: An experimental study on consumers’ perception,expectations and choices regarding mineral water

Multisensory interactions have been shown to affect food and beverage perception. Here we investigated if the colour of a plastic cup can affect the perception and expectation of the mineral water that is served in it. In Experiment 1, the participants were required to evaluate freshness, pleasantness, level of carbonation, and lightness of 3 different kind of mineral water (natural, slightly carbonated and carbonated) using visual analogue scales. The water was served in white, red, and blue plastic cups. In Experiment 2, we investigated the participants’ expectations regarding the water served in the same coloured plastic cups without tasting the liquid. In Experiment 3, we investigated if the participants chose to drink a given kind of water when served in a plastic cup of a specific colour. The results of Experiment 1 showed that people perceived mineral water as more carbonated when contained in a red or blue plastic cup, than when contained in a white cup. In Experiment 2, the participants expected the sparkling water contained in a blue cup to be less carbonated than the same water contained in a red or white cup and the slightly carbonated water more carbonated when served in a white or red cup with respect to the blue cup. Moreover, people expected the water to be fresher when contained in a white cup than in a red cup. In Experiment 3, the participants preferentially chose a white plastic cup to taste still water and blue or red cup to taste slightly sparkling water. These results clearly demonstrate that people’s perceptions, expectations, and choices regarding mineral water are differently modulated by the colour of the container where the liquid is served. The present study has important implications not only for understanding the multisensory interactions affecting beverage perception, but also for marketing and packaging design purposes.     

The silver sensory experience – A review of senior consumers’ food perception,liking and intake

It is commonly assumed that sensory impairments occurring with age negatively affect older people’s intake of foods in terms of both quality and quantity. This review discusses evidence published on the effects of age on sensory perception and the consequences for independently living seniors’ perception, liking and intake of food products. Because of anatomical changes in all the senses involved in human food perception, on average seniors perceive a lower flavour intensity than younger adults, are less sensitive to changes in the flavour profile of foods, and show a decreased ability to discriminate between different intensity levels of flavour and/or taste attributes. However, despite these differences in their sensory perception of foods, young adults and seniors seem to differ less in their initial hedonic appraisal of food products. Nonetheless, more research is needed to determine whether multisensory enrichment of foods across different modalities may lead to increased food liking in seniors both with and without olfactory impairment. Although limited, the current evidence suggests that sensory performance may be positively associated with BMI or body weight in specific senior populations. In addition, seniors fail to show a decreased appreciation of an eaten food, thereby increasing the risk of a monotonous diet. Taken together, these findings highlight the need for appropriate interventions and/or foods to improve and maintain adequate quantity and quality of food intake among independently living seniors, and especially those with low sensory performance. Such interventions should be holistic rather than focused on one modality and may also incorporate hedonic modulators such as past experiences, affective factors and external cues, e.g. brand names, labels or food packaging. In interventions and product development, segmentation of the senior consumer market is strongly advised to identify more homogeneous subgroups in order to deal with the large heterogeneity between independently living seniors. It is concluded that one size of the silver food experience will most likely not fit all senior consumers!     

Application of a written scenario to evoke a consumption context in a laboratory setting: Effects on hedonic ratings

Consumer hedonic testing of products is typically conducted under controlled sensory laboratory conditions. This setting does not accurately represent how food and drink are consumed. Literature demonstrates that consumer hedonic ratings elicited in the natural consumption context differ to those elicited under controlled conditions. This suggests that when removing a product from its natural consumption context, accurate hedonic ratings may not be obtained. The interest of this research was to develop an approach that evokes a consumption context in the sensory laboratory and study its impact on hedonic ratings. A written scenario was developed that was effective at making participants imagine an occasion when they desired a refreshing beverage. Consumer hedonic ratings of four apple juice samples elicited using the evoked consumption context (context condition) were compared to those elicited in a control condition (i.e., no evoked context). Differences in mean hedonic ratings of the samples were observed between the two conditions with greater sample discrimination observed for the evoked context condition. Consumers using the evoked context found it easy to indicate their product liking/disliking, and felt that the liking information they provided was accurate, more so than consumers in the control setting. Sensory practitioners need to be aware of the potential use of an evoked context in a control setting for eliciting product hedonic ratings, and understand its impact on mean hedonic ratings.     

Comparison of two sugar reduction strategies with children: Case study with grape nectars

Excessive sugar consumption has been identified as the main dietary determinants of obesity among children and adolescents. Sugar sweetened beverages are one of the main sources of added sugar in the diet. Therefore, gradual sugar reduction in these products can contribute to decreasing sugar intake and encourage children to slowly develop preference for products with lower sugar concentration. However, specific recommendations on how to implement gradual sugar reduction programs are still lacking. The aim of the present study was to compare two sugar reduction strategies (stepwise vs. gradual) on children’s sensory and hedonic perception of grape nectar. One hundred and seventeen 6–12 years old children participated in a two-part study: a 9-week study and a final liking test at the end of 11 weeks. In the 9-week study, children were divided in two sugar reduction strategies: stepwise and gradual. Children’s sensory and hedonic perception was evaluated using 9-point hedonic scales and check-all-that-apply questions. There were no major differences between the gradual and stepwise reduction groups in children’s sensory and hedonic perception. However, results showed that the gradual reduction strategy led to smaller changes in children’s sensory and hedonic perception than the stepwise strategy. In the final test, children in the stepwise group gave significantly higher liking scores to the samples than those in the gradual sugar reduction strategy. Comparing the overall liking between the first time the children tasted the grape nectars and the final test, a significant difference was observed for the sample with lower sugar content only for the stepwise group, which was higher in the 11th week. Although differences between the sugar reduction strategies were small, the gradual reduction strategy seems to be recommended over the step-wise strategy.     

Does the weight of the dish influence our perception of food?

In many categories, weight has been found to influence how users perceive and appraise products. However, to date, the influence of the weight of the dish in which food is served on people’s perception has not been studied empirically. This exploratory study was therefore designed to investigate whether the weight of the container would exert a significant influence on people’s sensory and hedonic responses to the food consumed from it. Three bowls, identical except for the fact that they were different weights, were filled with exactly the same yoghurt. Consumers evaluated the yoghurt samples from the three bowls holding them with one hand, one at a time. Participants rated flavor intensity, density, price expectation, and liking using 9-point likert scales. Significant effects were found for all attributes except for flavor intensity. The effects on both density and price expectation ratings were highly significant.These findings are potentially relevant for designers and those working in restaurants, the hospitality sector, and food production, since the design and choice of dishes (or packages) of various weights could potentially be used to help enhance and/or modify the way in which consumers perceive and experience the food consumed from them.     

PSYCHOLOGICAL CORRELATES OF SUGAR CONSUMPTION1

This paper reviews some of the research on the sweet taste which has been published during the past several decades. It stresses the division of our understanding of sweetness into three sections: quality (type of taste, and the role of sweetness), measurement of sweetness intensity or strength of the perception and the correlation with physical measurements, and finally the hedonics of sweetness which represents the affective portion. Data is presented from a real-world study on the sweetness and liking of a beverage which illustrates that although children and adults may perceive the sensory characteristics of sweetness in similar manners, nonetheless their hedonic reactions are quite different to the same sweetened beverage.     

Exploring how age influences sensory perception,thirst and hunger during the consumption of oral nutritional supplements using the check-all-that-apply methodology

The Check-all-that-apply (CATA) method has been widely used for the sensory characterisation of many different foods and beverages. However, this methodology has been rarely used with older adults. The aim of this study was to measure the effectiveness of the CATA methodology to investigate the differences in sensory perception of Oral Nutritional Supplements (ONS) between younger and community dwelling older adults over successive sips of a full volume of two ONS. The study also sought to measure the effects of ONS on thirst, hunger and fullness.160 participants (eighty aged over 65 and eighty aged 18-35) evaluated two ONS over two different days. They consumed five 40 ml aliquots of ONS amounting to one serving. After each 40 ml they completed a CATA questionnaire, which recorded liking using a 9-point hedonic scale and hunger, fullness, desire, and thirst using 100 mm visual analogue scales.The results indicated significantly lower levels in hunger (p ≤ 0.01) and thirst (p ≤ 0.01) in the older cohort than the younger cohort. Significant differences in texture perception with age were also observed with the younger cohort selecting ‘Watery’ significantly more (p ≤ 0.05) than the older cohort for ONS 1 and ‘Thick’ and ‘Viscous’ significantly more (p ≤ 0.05) for ONS 2. The study showed that the CATA methodology is appropriate for use with older adults. The findings enhanced our understanding of how an older population experience ONS and drivers of ‘liking’. This information has the potential to enhance ONS adherence and ultimately improve the nutritional status of older people.     

The influence of training and expertise on the multisensory perception of beer: A review

This review critically evaluates the literature documenting the impact of training on people’s perception of beer. In certain circumstances, training has been shown to improve people’s ability to match and identify beers, and to discriminate between beers and between the distinctive attributes of beer. However, a reasonably consistent finding is that the benefits of beer training do not seem to generalise to novel beers (i.e., those not experienced during training). As such, training would appear to improve the capacity to label perception and/or people’s recognition memory for beers, rather than necessarily influencing perception itself. Given how much beer is consumed annually, it is surprising that there has not been more published research into the role that training plays in this particular beverage category. Part of the reason for this may relate to (a) the limited role of experts in this field (e.g., primarily restricted to product testing and quality control; as compared to their much more prominent role in the world of wine), (b) the fact that training is an expensive and time-consuming process, and (c) it is wrongly assumed that the effects of training are similar across different beverage categories (e.g., beer and wine). We suggest that further efforts are therefore required before it will be possible to confidently conclude that training lowers the perceptual thresholds, and enhances the perceptual discrimination abilities, of beer experts above those of novices.     

Taste matters most: Effects of package design on the dynamics of implicit and explicit product evaluations over repeated in-home consumption

Package design influences consumers’ expectations of a product’s sensory properties and expected healthiness and/or tastiness, and potentially also changes actual product perception during consumption. The robustness of these effects is far from clear, however. This study investigated the influence of package cues signalling either hedonic or healthy product properties on expectations and subsequent product evaluation over repeated consumption.In a between-subjects design, 92 participants evaluated product expectations and taste perceptions of a chocolate-sesame flavoured biscuit with a package emphasizing either its healthy (n = 44) or hedonic (n = 48) aspects, both at a central location (CLT) and during six home use tests (HUT), using both explicit (questionnaires) and implicit (IAT) measures.Package design significantly affected (p < 0.05) consumers’ expectations of the product. They expected the biscuit to be tastier, less attractive and less healthy in the hedonic package condition, and less tasty, more attractive and healthier in the healthy package condition. However, these effects did not transfer to actual product evaluations upon tasting, either blind or tasting in combination with viewing the package during the HUTs. Implicit attitudes did change as a result of repeated exposures, depending on the package consumers were provided with, indicating product-package interactions over time (p < 0.05).In conclusion, package design influences product expectations and associations with its healthiness and attractiveness, which is of relevance in product choice and purchase settings. However, at the stage of (repeated) consumption, intrinsic (sensory) properties become the dominant drivers of products’ sensory and hedonic evaluations, and the impact of package cues seems less potent.     

Comparison of two sensory profiling techniques based on consumer perception

Eight chocolate milk desserts with different formulation were evaluated by two groups of consumers. Fifty consumers evaluated the samples and indicated their overall liking and answered a CATA question. Meanwhile, 40 consumers elicited up to four words to describe the desserts and completed a projective mapping task. Projective mapping and the check-all-that-apply question provided very similar sensory profiles for the evaluated milk desserts. Differences in the sensory characteristics of the samples were explained by differences in their formulations, which suggest the validity of the sensory profiles given by consumers. Projective mapping and the CATA question consisted on valuable tools to understand their perception of the sensory and hedonic characteristics of the desserts. These methodologies could consist on useful and interesting complimentary techniques to trained assessors’ data, being CATA question easier to understand and less time consuming for consumers.     

Temperature of served water can modulate sensory perception and acceptance of food

Cross-cultural differences exist in the typical temperature of water served with meals. North American people typically drink iced water/beverages while eating, whereas European or Asian people show a preference for room temperature water or hot water/tea, respectively. It has been reported that food perception and acceptance are influenced by oral temperature, as well as by serving temperature of food. Based on the fact that the iced or hot water served with meals can alter the oral temperature, the present study aimed to determine whether the temperature of served water can affect the sensory perception and acceptance of food subsequently consumed. Following a mouth rinse with water served at 4, 20, and 50 °C for 5 s, two different types of food, dark chocolate and cheddar cheese, were evaluated in terms of sensory intensity and overall liking. For the dark chocolate, the intensity ratings for sweetness, chocolate flavor, and creaminess were significantly lower when following water at 4 °C than when following water at either 20 or 50 °C. However, the modulatory effect of water temperature on sensory perception was not obtained with cheddar cheese. In addition, the temperature of served water altered the acceptance for the foods subsequently presented. Specifically, the overall liking for the dark chocolate was significantly lower when following water at 4 °C than when following water at either 20 or 50 °C. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates new empirical evidence that the consumption of iced water can decrease perceived intensities of sweetness, chocolate flavor, and creaminess for subsequently consumed chocolate. Our findings may provide one of plausible answers to the question of why North American people, who are more used to drinking iced water, show a strong preference for more highly sweetened foods.     

A sip of joy: Straw materials can influence emotional responses to,and sensory attributes of cold tea

While the use of reusable drinking straws has become more popular in recent years, there have been no previous studies regarding associations of drinking straw materials with perception and liking of beverages. This study was therefore aimed at determining whether and how straw materials could affect sensory perception of and evoke emotional responses to cold tea beverages. One hundred thirty-four participants (70 females and 64 males) consumed unsweetened cold black tea samples using five straws made from one of five materials: plastic, paper, copper, stainless steel, and silicone. They rated the tea samples with respect to attribute intensity and liking, overall hedonic impression, and evoked emotions. Tea samples were found to differ with straw materials in terms of flavor liking, mouthfeel liking, and sourness intensity. Interestingly, significant interactions between straw materials and gender were observed in overall hedonic impression and matching associations of straw materials with cold tea samples. Females liked cold tea samples more when consumed with copper or stainless steel straws than with paper straws, while males exhibited no differences with straw material conditions. A gender effect was also found on cold tea samples consumed with different straw materials, with females more emotionally expressive than males toward certain straw material conditions. In conclusion, this study shows variations in sensory and emotional responses to cold tea samples as a function of drinking straw materials and could help food and beverage professionals select the most appropriate straw materials for best enhancing beverage consumption experience.     

The coffee drinking experience: Product extrinsic (atmospheric) influences on taste and choice

Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages, with an estimated four hundred billion cups being consumed each and every year. In this review, we investigate just what effect the multisensory atmosphere/context has on people’s perception of, not to mention their choices concerning, coffee. We demonstrate how many different aspects of the environment influence people’s choice of what beverage to drink as well as what they think about the experience. Specifically, the visual, auditory, olfactory, and tactile aspects of the environment have all been shown to impact the experience of tasting and drinking coffee. This extensive body of empirical research complements the emerging findings demonstrating the influence of the receptacle in which coffee is consumed. Looking to the future, and acknowledging the profound influence of multisensory atmospherics on the experience of beverages, it would seem likely that there will be growing interest in optimizing and/or personalizing the environment for the kind of multisensory tasting experience that the coffee consumer wishes to have.     

Indonesian millennial consumers’ perception of tempe – And how it is affected by product information and consumer psychographic traits

Nine different tempe (five traditional and four modernised versions of tempe) were tested by 165 millennial consumers (63.6% women) in blind and informed sessions. The effects of information on hedonic response, sensory perception, collative properties and the product-elicited emotions were evaluated. The provided information related to the raw materials (bean type), origin (local or imported) and the production methods (traditional inoculum usar, with starter culture inoculum ragi and use of stainless steel factory processing equipment hygienis). The millennial consumers’ hedonic response and other parts of their perception were highly affected by the product information. The five traditional tempe were more liked when the product information was provided. In addition, significantly differences in collative properties were observed when product information is provided. Particularly the collative properties Authentic and Traditional. The elicited emotion that were most affected were Proudness. Surprisingly, a number of sensory properties were also affected significantly by the provided information. However, the interaction is not systematic neither for bean nor production type. Segmentation of respondents based on their level of Food Neophobia and Attitudes Towards Traditional Foods (ATTF), showed profound differences. ATTF segmentation in particular, as it affected both hedonic response, elicited emotions, as well as sensory and collative properties. Pro-traditional consumers reacted more positively to the information than other segments. The results demonstrated the powerful effect of transparency regarding the products’ provenience and product methods. The results show the importance of the millennial consumers’ education and information to preserve or maintain the diversity of food we eat.     

抗霾清肺饮的制备工艺及其功效研究

以黄芪、罗汉果、梨为原料,研制一种具有抗霾清肺作用的饮料。以黄芪甲苷含量和感官评价为指标,在单因素实验基础上结合正交试验法优选制备工艺。通过构建雾霾小鼠模型,以肺脏病理情况与肺组织中白介素-6(IL-6)、肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)含量评价抗霾清肺饮的功效。结果表明:最佳配比工艺为黄芪9%、罗汉果2%、梨50%和黄原胶0.1%,在此条件下,饮料中黄芪甲苷含量0.84 mg/mL,感官评分94.67分,产品均匀透亮,梨的果香与药香味相结合,酸甜适中,口感适宜。抗霾清肺饮对雾霾小鼠肺组织病理损伤有明显改善作用,与模型组比较,治疗组IL-6、TNF-α含量极显著降低(P<0.01),可能通过降低炎症反应而发挥作用。     

Pleasantness,emotions and perceptions induced by coffee beverage experience depend on the consumption motivation (hedonic or utilitarian)

Motivations to consume a given food or drink differ across consumers. For instance, coffee drinking can be motivated by sensory enjoyment (hedonic motivation) or by stimulation (functional motivation). Today it remains unknown how hedonic vs. utilitarian motivations impact consumer–product interaction. The objective of the present research was to study the impact of both motivations on consumer responses (i.e. pleasantness, emotions, and importance and satisfaction for each of the five senses) during the entire experience of a coffee beverage. Sixty participants drinking coffee beverage either for sensory enjoyment (SENS, n = 30) or to be stimulated (STIM, n = 30) were recruited. Four moments of the product experience were considered: water heating, jar handling, cup preparation and cup drinking. Self-ratings were repeatedly performed by the participants after each moment. SENS participants depicted higher positive emotions than STIM participants and even if similar levels of pleasantness were reached after cup drinking by both groups, levels of pleasantness at water heating and jar handling moments differed. The importance and satisfaction for the different senses also changed according to the participant motivation to drink the coffee beverage. Marketing implications are discussed in terms of communication materials development to more strongly engage consumers with the product.     

Effects of an evoked refreshing consumption context on hedonic responses to apple juice measured using best–worst scaling and the 9-pt hedonic category scale

Awareness of the need to consider a product’s consumption context when measuring consumer hedonic response of a product is increasing among consumer sensory researchers. This study investigated the effects of evoking a consumption context using a written scenario on hedonic response measured using best–worst scaling and the 9-pt hedonic category scale. Hedonic responses for four apple juices with relatively large sensory differences were compared when measured in the evoked context ‘when having something refreshing to drink’ using best–worst hedonic scaling (n = 65) and the 9-pt hedonic scale (n = 48). Best–worst scaling discriminated between the four apple juices when a refreshing context was evoked (p < 0.01), while the juices were equally liked using the 9-point scale (p = 0.41) when the same context was evoked. Consumers perceived best–worst scaling to be more difficult than the 9-pt scale, however there was no difference between the two methods for consumers perceived accuracy of their liking information. The present study highlights that the effect of an evoked context on hedonic response may not be universal for hedonic methods. Further research is needed to understand the effect of evoking context on the liking of products, and to determine whether this measure reflects product liking in an actual consumption context.     

Touching tastes: The haptic perception transfer of liquid food packaging materials

Based on the theory of crossmodal correspondence, which addresses transfer effects from one sense to another, and research that has explored the impact of touch on taste, the present study examined how the packaging materials of traditional Chinese cold tea drinks generated touch–taste associations. Blindfolded participants used a set of tasting attribute items to evaluate the taste of a liquid food product that differed only by the materials used to contain it, although they were led to believe that the products could differ. The results of Experiment 1 suggest that consumers’ haptic perception of packing materials significantly impacted their sense of the product’s SWEET dimension, but not the product’s SOUR or BITTER dimensions. Consumers rated a liquid food product’s sense of cold and ice (sub-dimensions of SWEET) higher when it was presented in a glass container rather than in paper or organic plastic containers. However, with the cups’ weight controlled, the results of Experiment 2 revealed that consumers’ haptic perception of packing materials only significantly impacted their sense of ice, but not their sense of cold. Consumers rated a liquid food product’s sense of ice higher when it was presented in a glass container rather than in an organic plastic container. The preliminary findings of both experiments indicate a crossmodal correspondence between the touch of food packaging materials and the taste of the food contained within them. Sensation transference provides the most likely explanation for the results. Affective ventriloquism effects provide another, but less likely, explanation. The study’s implications for choosing between packaging materials for liquid food products are discussed.