Submit to Foods Review for Foods Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Consumer Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 June 2022) | Viewed by 20682

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mari Sandell

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
Interests: individual differences in sensory perception; food and senses; multisensory perception; sensory food science

Dr. Oskar Laaksonen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Food Sciences, Department of Life Technologies, University of Turku, FI-20014 Turku, Finland
Interests: sensory qualities of food; sensory-active compounds in foods; taste and astringency; phenolic compounds
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

People live in their individual sensory worlds. We are different in sensitivity in chemosensory perception. There is a direct link between sensory perception and eating habits via multisensory food perception. The roles of taste, smell and chemesthesis in food-related perception contexts are very important to understand more efficiently.

This Special Issue of Foods invites researchers to submit manuscripts bringing novel scientific contribution to research that connects human sensory perception (chemical senses) sensitivity to food perception. Research may include sense of taste, smell or chemesthesis together or separately, as well as singly or various modalities of taste, smell or chemesthesis. In addition, the study may involve food flavor combining perception of taste, smell and chemesthesis. Food perception may contain sensory or consumer research focusing on different kinds of edible and drinkable food products or meals. Sensitivity in human sensory perception may be linked to phenotypes or genotypes. Both the original research and review articles are welcome. Research-based evidence of interaction between individual differences in chemosensory perception and food perception helps one to understand further the possibilities and challenges in food choices and consumption. This knowledge helps to guide people toward a healthier diet.

Prof. Dr. Mari Sandell
Dr. Oskar Laaksonen
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Foods is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

taste
smell
chemesthesis
sensitivity
food perception

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Other

14 pages, 1792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Harnessing Food Product Reviews for Personalizing Sweetness Levels

by Kim Asseo and Masha Y. Niv

Foods 2022, 11(13), 1872; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11131872 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3686

Abstract

Sweet taste is innately appealing, ensuring that mammals are attracted to the sweetness of mother’s milk and other sources of carbohydrates and calories. In the modern world, the availability of sugars and sweeteners and the eagerness of the food industry to maximize palatability, result in an abundance of sweet food products, which poses a major health challenge. The aim of the current study is to analyze sweetness levels, liking, and ingredients of online reviews of food products, in order to obtain insights into sensory nutrition and to identify new opportunities for reconciling the palatability–healthiness tension. We collected over 200,000 reviews of ~30,000 products on Amazon dated from 2002 to 2012 and ~350,000 reviews of ~2400 products on iHerb from 2006 to 2021. The reviews were classified and analyzed using manual curation, natural language processing, and machine learning. In total, ~32,000 (Amazon) and ~29,000 (iHerb) of these reviews mention sweetness, with 2200 and 4600 reviews referring to the purchased products as oversweet. Oversweet reviews were dispersed among consumers. Products that included sucralose had more oversweet reviews than average. 26 products had at least 50 reviews for which at least 10% were oversweet. For these products, the average liking by consumers reporting oversweetness was significantly lower (by 0.9 stars on average on a 1 to 5 stars scale) than by the rest of the consumers. In summary, oversweetness appears in 7–16% of the sweetness-related reviews and is less liked, which suggests an opportunity for customized products with reduced sweetness. These products will be simultaneously healthier and tastier for a substantial subgroup of customers and will benefit the manufacturer by expanding the products’ target audience. Analysis of consumers’ reviews of marketed food products offers new ways to obtain informative sensory data. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception)

► Show Figures

Graphical abstract

16 pages, 2364 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effects of Olfactory Loss and Parosmia on Food and Cooking Habits, Sensory Awareness, and Quality of Life—A Possible Avenue for Regaining Enjoyment of Food

by Alexander Wieck Fjaeldstad and Barry Smith

Foods 2022, 11(12), 1686; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11121686 - 8 Jun 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3941

Abstract

Olfactory dysfunction often has severe consequences on patients’ quality of life. The most common complaint in these patients is their reduced enjoyment of food in both patients with olfactory loss and parosmia. How the different types of olfactory dysfunction differ in relation to food and cooking habits, sensory awareness, and food-related quality of life has not yet received much attention. By applying questionnaires on cooking, food, olfactory function, weight changes, sensory awareness, and food-related quality of life, we investigated how various aspects of eating differ between participants with olfactory loss (n = 271), parosmia (n = 251), and normosmic controls (n = 166). Cooking habits in olfactory dysfunction revealed pronounced differences as compared with normosmic controls. Cooking with olfactory dysfunction was associated with, e.g., a lack of comfort and inspiration for cooking and an inability to make new foods successfully. Significant differences in cooking were also found between olfactory loss and parosmia. Food items were less familiar in participants with olfactory loss and parosmia, while the ratings of liking food items differed between olfactory loss and parosmia, indicating the importance of adapting ingredients in meals separately for olfactory loss and parosmia. Parosmia was associated with a higher incidence of weight loss, but we found no difference in food-related quality of life between participants with olfactory loss and parosmia. While olfactory loss and parosmia have wide-ranging consequences on patients’ cooking and food habits, adapting meals to include ‘safer food items’ and integrating multisensory stimulation may be a possible avenue for improving the enjoyment of food. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1365 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Characterization of the Key Aroma Constituents in Fried Tilapia through the Sensorics Concept

by Mingyuan Liu, Xiaoying Zhao, Mouming Zhao, Xiaoling Liu, Yiyang Pang and Meishuo Zhang

Foods 2022, 11(4), 494; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11040494 - 9 Feb 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2020

Abstract

The object of this study was tilapia fish that were fried in soybean oil. Volatile compounds were extracted from the fish by ASE-HVE and were studied by GC-O-MS and the AEDA analysis method. A total of 30 aroma compounds were initially determined, and these compounds contribute to the aroma of fried tilapias. The key volatile compounds in fried tilapia were quantitatively analyzed by GC-MS, and the volatile compounds in soybean-fried tilapia were studied by flavor recombination and deletion experiments. Trimethylamine, hexanal, 2,3-dimethylpyrazine, dimethyl trisulfide, trans-2-octenal, 2,3-dimethyl-5-ethylpyrazine, (E)-2-nonenal, 2-propyl-pyridine, and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal were finally determined to be the key volatile compounds in soybean-fried tilapia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 836 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

The Individual Differences in the Perception of Oral Chemesthesis Are Linked to Taste Sensitivity

by Sulo Roukka, Sari Puputti, Heikki Aisala, Ulla Hoppu, Laila Seppä and Mari A. Sandell

Foods 2021, 10(11), 2730; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods10112730 - 8 Nov 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3431

Abstract

Chemesthesis is a part of the flavor experience of foods. Chemesthetic perception is studied to understand its effect on food-related behavior and health. Thus, the objective of this research was to study individual differences in chemesthetic perception. Our study involved sensory tests of three chemesthetic modalities (astringency, pungency, and cooling). Participants (N = 196) evaluated the intensity of samples in different concentrations using a line scale under sensory laboratory conditions. Aluminum ammonium sulfate, capsaicin, and menthol were used as the prototypic chemesthetic compounds. The participants were divided into sensitivity groups in different chemesthetic modalities by hierarchical clustering based on their intensity ratings. In addition, an oral chemesthesis sensitivity score was determined to represent the generalized chemesthesis sensitivity. The results showed that people can perceive chemesthesis on different intensity levels. There were significantly positive correlations between (1) sensitivity scores for oral chemesthesis and taste as well as (2) each chemesthesis and taste modalities. Moreover, based on the multinomial logistic regression model, significant interactions between oral chemesthesis and taste sensitivity were discovered. Our findings showed that people can be classified into different oral chemesthesis sensitivity groups. The methods and results of this study can be utilized to investigate associations with food-related behavior and health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 3170 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effective Connectivity in the Human Brain for Sour Taste, Retronasal Smell, and Combined Flavour

by Justin Long Kiu Suen, Andy Wai Kan Yeung, Ed X. Wu, Wai Keung Leung, Hiroki C. Tanabe and Tazuko K. Goto

Foods 2021, 10(9), 2034; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods10092034 - 29 Aug 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3857

Abstract

The anterior insula and rolandic operculum are key regions for flavour perception in the human brain; however, it is unclear how taste and congruent retronasal smell are perceived as flavours. The multisensory integration required for sour flavour perception has rarely been studied; therefore, we investigated the brain responses to taste and smell in the sour flavour-processing network in 35 young healthy adults. We aimed to characterise the brain response to three stimulations applied in the oral cavity—sour taste, retronasal smell of mango, and combined flavour of both—using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Effective connectivity of the flavour-processing network and modulatory effect from taste and smell were analysed. Flavour stimulation activated middle insula and olfactory tubercle (primary taste and olfactory cortices, respectively); anterior insula and rolandic operculum, which are associated with multisensory integration; and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, a secondary cortex for flavour perception. Dynamic causal modelling demonstrated that neural taste and smell signals were integrated at anterior insula and rolandic operculum. These findings elucidated how neural signals triggered by sour taste and smell presented in liquid form interact in the brain, which may underpin the neurobiology of food appreciation. Our study thus demonstrated the integration and synergy of taste and smell. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Other

Jump to: Research

8 pages, 459 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Should Panelists Refrain from Wearing a Personal Fragrance Prior to Sensory Evaluation? The Effect of Using Perfume on Olfactory Performance

by Thadeus L. Beekman, Kaushik Luthra, Shady Afrin Jeesan, Rebecca Bowie and Han-Seok Seo

Foods 2022, 11(3), 428; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/foods11030428 - 1 Feb 2022

Viewed by 2421

Abstract

It is typically recommended that panelists should refrain from wearing personal fragrances, such as perfume or cologne, prior to sensory evaluation. Interestingly, no study has been reported as to whether panelists’ perceptions of test samples could be affected by personal fragrances worn by themselves. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the effect of such a personal fragrance on olfactory performance. Nineteen untrained participants were screened, recruited for, and underwent the Sniffin’ Sticks test designed for measuring olfactory performances that included the odor threshold, discrimination, and identification (TDI). The olfactory performance tasks were conducted under three fragrance level conditions: (1) control (no fragrance), (2) just-about-right (JAR), and (3) excessive, with a preliminary study used to identify both the JAR and excessive fragrance levels. The results showed that the odor discrimination, odor threshold, and combined TDI performances were significantly lowered in the two conditions with the perfume fragrance, while the odor identification performance exhibited no significant differences across all three conditions. These findings provide empirical evidence that even low to moderate levels of personal fragrance can significantly reduce individuals’ olfactory capabilities, possibly subsequently altering the perception of test samples during sensory evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Taste, Smell and Chemesthesis Sensitivity and Food Perception)

► Show Figures