Measuring temporal dynamics of satisfaction differences between animal- and plant-based foods

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Sensory Evaluation
• Consumer Behavior

Background:

• Consumer interest in plant-based diets is growing.
• Understanding the sensory experience of plant-based foods is crucial for market acceptance.
• Temporal changes in food perception are not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the Temporal Changes in Impressions (TCI) between animal-based and plant-based foods.
• To compare the effects of different soup bases (animal, conventional plant-based, high-quality plant-based) on satiety and sensory experience.
• To explore the utility of tracking temporal changes in sensory evaluation for understanding food value.

Main Methods:

• Participants rated hunger, valence, desire to eat, and satisfaction before and after consuming pasta with different consommé soups.
• A preload phase involved consuming a larger portion of the same meal.
• Sensory evaluations were conducted in two rating phases to capture temporal changes.

Main Results:

• Animal-based soup demonstrated superior hunger reduction compared to conventional plant-based soup.
• Conventional plant-based soup led to significant declines in valence and desire over time, unlike animal-based soup.
• No significant differences in sensory measures were found between animal-based and high-quality plant-based soups.

Conclusions:

• Tracking temporal changes in sensory evaluation provides valuable insights into the eating experience.
• Animal-based foods may offer distinct advantages in satiety and sustained positive perception over conventional plant-based alternatives.
• High-quality plant-based formulations show potential to match the sensory performance of animal-based foods.