0000000000058903
AUTHOR
Jérémy Tavarès
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…
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…