 A method to adapt conventional dishes for dysphagic people was developed.  Acceptability of adapted dishes was evaluated by cerebral palsy dysphagic people.  Sensory analysis was fundamental in the selection of texturizing agents.  Instrumental and sensory texture analyses were useful to study the thermostability.  Mixtures of xanthan-based additives led to suitable and stable dishes.

Twenty-four safe dishes for cerebral palsy dysphagic patients and four commercial dysphagia-oriented food products for dysphagia were studied in order to determine their textural characteristics. Apparent viscosity measured at 25, 50, and 100 s −1 and extrusion force analyzed at 1, 2, 5, and 10 mm/s were evaluated. Using clustering techniques, samples were divided into three categories. Apparent viscosity at 50 s −1 and extrusion force at 5 and 10 mm/s could be enough to characterize the safe dishes for dysphagic patients.

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Dishes whose texture has been modified for dysphagia undergo changes in other sensory characteristics as well. Therefore, it is necessary to identify these characteristics in adapted dishes and their relationship to hedonic acceptance. In the present work, the sensory characteristics of five dishes adapted to dysphagia associated with cerebral palsy were investigated using the check-all-that-apply method. A hedonic evaluation with a panel of non-dysphagic judges was performed to relate the degree of acceptance with the sensory characteristics of the adapted dishes. The identification of the original non-adapted dish as well as the relationship between the hedonic evaluation by non-dysphagic judges and dysphagic judges were explored. The main attributes of the dishes adapted to dysphagia were “homogeneity” and “easy-to-swallow”. Attributes that increased the hedonic evaluation were “flavorful”, “flavor of the original dish”, “soft texture”, “easy-to-swallow”, and “odor of the original dish”. The attributes that decreased the hedonic evaluation were “thick mash” and “bland”. The fish dish was the only one correctly identified more than 62.5% of the time. The adapted dishes received scores above 4.7 out of 9.0 in the hedonic evaluation. The most accepted dishes were the chicken stew and the chickpea stew. Except for the pasta dish, the test yielded similar results to those obtained with dysphagic judges. The texture-modified dishes were correctly characterized and accepted. This study shows that all the sensory characteristics of the adapted dishes are crucial for acceptance and identification.

The interest to characterize texture‐modified foods (TMFs) intended for people with oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) has grown significantly since 2011. Several instrumental and sensory techniques have been applied in the analysis of these foods. The objective of the present systematic review was to identify the most appropriate techniques, especially for the food industry and clinical setting. The search was carried out in three online databases according to the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses” (PRISMA). Across the multiple trials reviewed, Texture Profile Analysis and the Uniaxial Compression Test were most used as the instrumental technique for solid foods, and the Back Extrusion Test for fluid and semisolid foods. All trials used descriptive analysis as the sensory technique. However, the experimental conditions of the trials lacked standardization. Consequently, the results of the trials were not comparable. To properly characterize the texture of TMFs intended for OD by each technique, an international consensus is needed to establish standardized experimental conditions. Methods based on these techniques should also be validated by collaborative studies to verify repeatability, replicability, and reproducibility.

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Strategies to manage oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) associated with cerebral palsy (CP) include feeding based on texture-modified dishes (TMD). Although several studies have been conducted on specific foods, little is known about the characteristics of TMDs from an analytical and technological point of view. Therefore, the objectives of the present tesis were (1) to establish the textural characteristics of TMDs intended for DO, (2) to develop a method to elaborate DOoriented TMDs associated with CP, and (3) to define the sensory characteristics and acceptability of CP-oriented TMDs. Finally, it was considered opportune (4) to carry out a literatura review of the instrumental and sensory methods frequently used in the textural analysis of foods intended for OD in order to identify the most suitable ones for the clinical and technological fields. For the instrumental characterization of TMDs suitable for OD, it resorted to viscometer and texturometer analysis at different speeds. For the design of CP-associated OD-oriented TMDs, a method of cooking, grinding and mixing with food additives was developed to make them thermostable and with a longer shelf life. Five dishes commonly found in the diet of people with CP were texturized and analyzed instrumentally with a texturometer (5 mm/s) and by descriptive sensory analysis with expert OD speech therapists. Acceptance by people affected with OD and CP and the general and particular characterization of each TMD were also evaluated using nonexpert judges, consumers, by means of the Check-all-that-apply (CATA) method. As for the systematic review, the PRISMA method was applied. A classification of viscosity and texture into three levels of TMD was established. Five TMDs were generated and classified as suitable by the expert in OD speech therapists, their main characteristics being: low levels of firmness, adhesiveness and residue, medium values of cohesiveness and high values of fluidity and suitable texture score. In addition, they were accepted by people with OD and CP. Attributes were identified to define in a general or particular way the different dishes. Finally, methods and their parameters were proposed for different types of dysphagia foods, solid, semisolid or liquid. It is necessary to continue researching and generating new TMDs with nutritional and organoleptic characteristics appropriate to the requirements of people with CP-associated OD. This will require the development of standardized characterization methods, in a consensual and multidisciplinary way, in order to facilitate the work in the OD food industry and in the clinical and research fields.