Improving sensory quality of food product to meet the elderly’s preferences: which winning strategy?

Having a "good" diet counts as an important factor for healthy ageing. Beyond nutritional aspects, a "good" diet, also contributes to maintain “eating pleasure”, an essential component in food intake mechanism. The present study aims to assess the impact of changes related to texture, taste and flavor on food acceptance in the elderly. The adopted strategy was to orientate the products modifications based on elderly’s expectations. A qualitative approach (focus group and face-to-face interviews) was carried on with a first elderly panel (>65 yo) to collect suggestions about sensory improvements that can be made in a meat dish with a normal texture, in a meat dish with a modified texture and…

Le déclin de la perception sensorielle des personnes âgées cache une grande variabilité : est-il lié aux préférences alimentaires et au statut nutritionnel ?

Le déclin de la perception sensorielle des personnes âgées cache une grande variabilité : est-il lié aux préférences alimentaires et au statut nutritionnel ?. Le Sensolier, 10. journée : Des différences de perception entre individus

Food selectivity and pickiness in adulthood: an age and gender-related behaviour?

Food pickiness –or selectivity- is a behavior which may lead to a lack of variety and an unbalanced diet. While this trait has been studied in children, pickiness in adults has been more rarely explored and only recently in French elderly1. The first aim of the present work was to identify if pickiness varies according to age and gender in adults. The second aim was to examine the link between the selectivity score and self-reported degree of pickiness. Four hundred French adults from 25 to 75 years old answered an online survey. Respondents were asked to tick each food they dislike among a list of 71 food items. The selectivity score was the number of disliked food items1. Moreover, partic…

Maintenir le plaisir à manger chez les personnes âgées dépendantes à risque de dénutrition : validation d’une échelle de mesure de l’appréciation auprès de cette population

Introduction et but de l'étudeUne “bonne” alimentation est considérée comme l’un des facteurs clefs contribuant à la prévention des pathologies survenant avec l’âge. Mais une “bonne” alimentation, ce n’est pas uniquement satisfaire aux besoins nutritionnels de la population âgée. C’est aussi maintenir le plaisir à manger, composante essentielle de la régulation de la prise alimentaire et plus généralement du bien-être et de la qualité de vie (Grunert et al, 2007). Lors d’une enquête menée auprès de personnes âgées de plus de 65 ans, nous avons interrogé 289 personnes vivant à domicile sans aide et 95 personnes vivant en Établissement pour Personnes Âgées Dépendantes (EHPAD). Les résultats o…

Exemplarity measurement and estimation of the level of interjudge agreement for two categories of French red wines

Abstract Exemplarity measurements of wines by at least 20 judges are used to estimate the degree of interjudge (dis)agreement and to tell wines apart into two contrasting extremes. Two sets of French red wines – Pinot noir from Burgundy and Cabernet franc from the Loire Valley – are studied separately but by the same approach. Short-listing criteria are used to collate 40 starting-price and middle-range wines for each set differing a priori in olfactory terms. Wine professionals assess their local wines first orthonasally and then, independently, by global evaluation. A pool of descriptive and inferential statistics indicates there is generally neither complete divergence nor real agreement…

How to predict the odor profile of wine from its chemical composition? In silico modelling using experts' knowledge, fuzzy logic and optimization

International audience

Sensory testing in new product development: Working with older people

Very few studies today validate the use of various sensory tools among elderly subjects, although the population is ageing rapidly. This chapter deals with applied sensory assessment in the food sector. It first presents heterogeneity factors in this population: physical and psychological health and dependency, decrease of chemosensory capacities, changes in oral-motor skills and modifications of cognitive abilities. Then, a study aiming at comparing the capacity of young and more or less dependent elderly subjects to use a discrete scale (discriminatory power and repeatability) in a monadic sequential presentation is described. Finally, recommendations are given about the cases where a pan…

Consumer testing in elderly population: impact of age and dependence on liking scoring

In this beginning of XXI° century, there is a total of 600 millions of elderly in the world, and this population should reach 2 milliards in 2050. In such a context, growing interest is devoted to this population, both from an economical and a societal point of view. A key challenge is to promote healthy ageing, a nutritious diet being considered as an important factor to assist elderly in maintaining optimal level of health and preventing the onset of disease or dependency. As ageing is accompanied by physiological and psychological changes, that may alter food perception and preferences. Developing nutritious food likely to meet preferences of older people requests consumer testing with t…

Conducting sensory analysis tests among the elderly

Experts ad novices olfactory categorizations in wine: differences and similitaries

International audience

Evidence for different patterns of chemosensory alterations in the elderly population: impact of age versus dependency

The present experiment aimed to explore the interindividual variability in chemosensory abilities among the elderly population. The chemosensory abilities of 559 subjects, aged from 65 to 99 years, were evaluated. Various categories of the elderly, including people who were living at home either without or with assistance, and people who were living in a nursing home, were interviewed. The results revealed that 43% of the sample presented well-preserved chemosensory abilities, whereas 21% of the participants presented a moderate impairment. Of the sample, 33% presented well-preserved olfactory abilities but strong impairment in gustatory abilities and 3% were nearly anosmic but remained abl…

Conceptual vs. perceptual wine spaces: Does expertise matter?

Abstract This study explores the differences in wine categorization between wine experts and novice wine consumers using 10 Melon de Bourgogne (MB) and 10 Chardonnay (CH) wines. Participants performed a free sorting task based on odor similarity followed by a CH and a MB typicality rating task and a liking rating. All tasks were performed orthonasally. We observed a clear agreement between experts concerning typicality scores. Moreover, despite a slight overlap we found a clear differentiation between CH and MB for experts’ typicality scores. For novices, no such agreement on typicality scores was observed and we found a complete overlap between both types of wines. These results suggest th…

Static vs. dynamic liking in chewing gum: a new approach using a background task and a natural setting

Fil: Galmarini, Mara Virginia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Galmarini, Mara Virginia. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Symoneaux, R. Universidad de Nantes Angers Le Mans; Francia Fil: Visalli, Michel. Centro de Ciencias de los Alimentos y el Sabor; Francia Fil: Zamora, María Clara. Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias; Argentina Fil: Zamora, María Clara. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Schlich, Pascal. Centro de Ciencias de los Alimentos y el Sabor; Francia Abstract: Chewing gum is a particular product, consumed …

Impact of ageing on chemosensory capacities: Evidence for the existence of different patterns of alteration

This study is part of AUPALESENS - Improving pleasure of elderly people for better aging and for fighting against malnutrition; Impact of ageing on chemosensory capacities: Evidence for the existence of different patterns of alteration. 16. international symposium on Olfaction and taste (ISOT)