Taste, Fat Sensation and Texture Study
Condition: Taste Perception; Fat Sensation; Eating Rate; Bite Size
Study type: Observational

Summary: 
      Food is selected primarily on their taste and texture properties. It is essential to get more
      insight in taste and texture characteristics of the foods in the Dutch and Malaysian diets
      for a better understanding of food choices. Currently, there is insufficient information on
      taste and texture properties of foods to relate these properties to the composition of diets
      and individual food choice in larger (observational) studies.

      In the current study, the investigators want to assess the perceived intensities of the 5
      basic tastes, i.e. sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami, as well as fat sensation and texture,
      in an array of about 1,000 often consumed Dutch and Malaysian foods. The investigators aim to
      do this with a trained sensory panel, which is a well-accepted way of assessing perception of
      sensory attributes.

      With the current study, the investigators aim to build a table, which is comparable to the
      food composition table, but contains data that describes foods and meals in terms of sensory
      properties. That is, investigators want to quantify sensory characteristics of about 1,000
      commonly eaten Dutch and Malaysian foods. This enables investigators to add sensory
      information to the food intake data that is already being collected in observational studies,
      and to further understand food choices in specific populations, such as elderly and patient
      groups. In current project, the investigators also aim to compare the Dutch diet to the
      Malaysian diet in term of sensory properties.
    

Detailed description: 
      The study is an observational study on taste and texture of commonly consumed Dutch and
      Malaysian foods with three phases, i.e. screening, training and tasting sessions.

      The study will be held in the sensory tasting rooms at Wageningen University, The Netherlands
      and Taylor's University, Malaysia, respectively.

      After the recruitment and prior to the training and tasting sessions, there will be a 2-hour
      screening session (Phase I) during which the investigators will select respective Dutch and
      Malaysian participants based on their performance in a sensory test.

      During the training session (Phase II), the participants need to commit and involve in 2
      1½-hour sessions a week for approximately four- six months (until sufficiently trained).

      At the tasting sessions (Phase III), trained Dutch and Malaysian panellist also need to
      involve in 2-3 sessions a week for a consecutive three years. Each session will take
      approximately 1½ hour. During this session, series of food will be rated for their taste, fat
      and texture. In addition, food texture will be measured by eating rate and quantifying the
      size of the bites which it is eaten.

      The usual performance of the panellist also are discussed with the panellists and monitored
      throughout the training phase and regularly (each month) during the tasting phase.
    

Intervention name(s): Basic taste, fat sensation and texture perception
Intervention type(s): Diagnostic Test
Intervention description(s): This is an observational Sensory study methodologically similar to "Astringency and bitterness perception clinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03171402 "Participants are first involved in sensory training sessions that train how they recognise between different basic tastes and differentiate perceived intensity in solutions and foods. After 6 months of training, the trained participants are involved in tasting a wide array of commonly consumed foods. At this study phase, participants will rate for the foods' taste, fat sensation perception and texture
Observational model: Other
Time perspective: Cross-Sectional
Sampling method: Non-Probability Sample
Study population: 
        Only Dutchs are allowed to participate as Dutch taste panel; and only Malaysians are
        allowed to participate as Malaysian taste panel