Influence on Food Liking of Adding Spices to Replace Sugar Using CLT

Influence of Food Liking of Adding Spices to Replace Dietary Sugar Using Sequential Monadic CLT Methodology

This study aims to reduce the amount of sugar in a particular food item and add spices to see if the food liking of that item rates as high or higher in a post meal survey. Through taste testing of the menu items (using sequential monadic CLT methodology) the investigators will determine an opinion of the participants. Results of these surveys will determine whether participants enjoy the reduced sugar options as much as their full sugar counterparts.

The investigators will compare the overall consumer acceptability of each of three test items (tea, oatmeal and apple crisp) across the three test conditions using central location test (CLT) and cross-over design. The three test conditions for each test item will be (1) Full sugar ("FS"), (2) reduced sugar (and calorie) with no added spice ("RS") and (3) reduced sugar (and calorie) plus spice ("RSS"). The two reduced sugar items will be matched for calories. Subjects will be provided the test items using sequential monadic CLT methodology (Central Location Test methodology which involves product evaluation after a brief exposure (one sample-subject contact) under standardized conditions whereby subjects are given each of the 3 recipes of each test item (e.g., oatmeal with full sugar, oatmeal with reduced sugar, oatmeal with reduced plus spice) back to back (all within one sitting) in a random order. The investigators are interested in using the sequential monadic CLT methodology and having subjects taste all 3 recipes of each item in one sitting which is a commonly used test modality for sensory studies.

Inclusion Criteria:

-ages 18-65

Exclusion Criteria:

• diagnosed taste or sensory disorder
• known eating disorder
• allergies to test food/ingredients
• medical conditions that may adversely affect taste (ie: dysgeusia)
• inability to complete protocol or to participate in all three taste testing sessions
• personal dietary restrictions towards test items
• dislike of the particular food items to be served in taste tests
• subjects who do not consume foods or beverages that contain sugar or to which they have added sugar will be excluded
• subjects who have not consumed or would not be willing to consume hot tea, oatmeal or baked apple products will be excluded
• subjects who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant will be excluded