Sensory testing in new product development working with children

Centre des Sciences du Gout et de I Alimentation CNRS, INRA and Universite de Bourgogne, Dijon, France 

Sensory evaluation typically measures several aspects of products quality, intensity, temporality and hedonic value. Studying all these aspects with children may prove difhcult, due to their incomplete cognitive development, which may have practical implications. We will consider here verbal children, from 2 years until early teenage, because older children have sufficiently developed cognitive abilities to behave as adults in sensory tests. 

Children have a different approach to products from adults. Even teenagers have a different perception of product quaUty from their parents (Bech-Larsen and Jensen, 2011). Children s basic sensory perceptions are likely to differ from those of adults (Ganchrow and Mennella, 2003 Nicklaus et al 2005), which results in different perceptions of food products and, ultimately, in different hedonic evaluations and different optimal product formulation (Hough et ai, 1997). Diminished sensitivity may be specifically true for boys when simple food stimuli are concerned (James et al., 1997), but not in more complex matrices (James et al, 1999). 

The limited reasoning abilities during the pre-operational stage may involve difficulties for children in performing the analytical tasks required during sensory evaluation. 

Rapid Sensory Profiling Techniques and Related Methods. http //dx.doi.Org/10.1533/9781782422587.4.473 

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Sensory testing in new product development working with children... 

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