The viscosity of nonsolid foods and the stability of their viscosity over time is critical in managing dysphagia. The time-dependent viscosity of liquids thickened with starch-based thickeners was measured at constant temperature and shear rate. Viscosity was measured between 30-min intervals of rest (zero shear) over a period of 17 h at 20.0 degrees C. Two common types of thickeners were evaluated: maize-based and maltodextrin-based (the latter commonly used in pediatrics). The maize-based thickeners undergo a significant decrease in viscosity over the initial 1-4 h following preparation. The maltodextrin-based thickener's viscosity increases significantly 30 min following preparation and is then more stable over time than its maize-based equivalent. These findings suggest that the success of current dysphagia therapies that use thickeners could be influenced by the time-dependent nature of thickened fluid viscosity. Acknowledgment and appropriate selection of the thickener type is shown to be of great importance.

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Abstract-The viscosity of non-solid foods, and the stability of their viscosity over time, temperature change and shearing is critical in managing dysphagia. The starch-based foodstuffs thickeners used in dysphagia therapy are highly non-Newtonian and their viscosity is dependent on shear rate, shear history, temperature and time. This inherently results in the subjective measurement of viscosity and hence the management of dysphagia to be error prone. Given the ageing population, this problem is likely to become more widespread. This paper identifies the need for an objective measurement device rather than the current subjective methods. The use of the quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) as a viscometer for the starchbased thickeners is reported.

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