Adapt food for older tastes, sensory study claims

15-Dec-2015 - Last updated on 15-Dec-2015 at 13:58 GMT

Sensory study: 57% of people aged 65 and over had one or both senses impaired

Related tags Taste Food manufacture group

Research into the way ageing affects the senses of taste and smell suggests that food manufacturers need to modify their food to make it more appetising for people whose senses are impaired.

A team headed by sensory scientist Claire Sulmont-Rossé from the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) in Dijon, France, investigated the sense of smell and taste of 559 people aged 65 to 99.

Impaired senses

They found 57% had either one sense, and in some cases both, impaired. Thirty-three percent had a good sense of smell but had lost a high degree of their sense of taste, 21% had moderate smell and taste impairment, and 3% had a strongly impaired sense of smell.

Impaired taste or smell can cause a decline in appetite and meal enjoyment. This can lead to malnutrition, and the researchers said there is a need to develop food that fits the sensory capacities of the elderly.

Useful knowledge

Sulmont-Rossé said: “This knowledge can be used by both the food industry and operators of homes for the aged. By concentrating on developing foods with pleasing texture and appearance, it should be possible for even those people with impaired sensory abilities to enjoy healthy meals.”

Personalised nutrition will feature at Food Manufacture Group’s New Frontiers in Food and Drink conference on Thursday March 17 2016. Go to www.newfrontiersinfoodanddrink.co.uk for more details.