Application of the check‐all‐that‐apply method (CATA) to get insights on children's drivers of liking of fiber‐enriched apple purees

Abstract

Developing food products for children requires their involvement since their needs differ from those of adults. Descriptive methods are helpful in defining product's sensory properties that drive consumer's liking but they are not recommended with children. Consequently, finding new approaches to develop food tailored for children is one of the biggest challenges for food companies and sensory and consumer research scientists. This study has a twofold aim: (a) to test the suitability of check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions to obtain a sensory description of fiberenriched apple purees by children; (b) to investigate the drivers of liking of these products. Sixtytwo children (8-11 years) evaluated the overall liking of six apple purees varying in appearance and texture and answered a series of CATA questions. Results showed that children were able to generate appropriate descriptive terms and to discriminate the samples according to the a priori modified sensory modalities using the CATA method. Sweet taste and a uniform texture (sandy, doughy, and floury attributes) were positive predictors of apple purees children liking, whereas sour taste, granular and crunchy texture were negative predictors. Practical applicationsThe check-all-that-apply (CATA) method is an appropriate, child-friendly approach to get insights on how young consumers perceive a food product and identify the most relevant sensory attributes that affect children's hedonic perception. The use of CATA technique could be useful for food products research and development to understand children's drivers of liking and to obtain effective input for products optimization that meet children's sensory expectation, assuring product's success with this specific target of consumers.

Comparison of preference clustering outcomes from replicated consumer tests—A case study with mandarins

“…This finding was uncovered even with slight differences in term language presented to both groups. The findings here also suggest that CATA scales may be appropriate for descriptive purposes, a finding that has recently gained merit (Laureati et al, ). Further work with children may be valuable to understand the limits in their CATA abilities.…”

Predicting children's food choice using check‐all‐that‐apply questions

“…Even when samples had a similar overall liking (P2, PL1, and PL3), significant differences were observed in the usage frequency of several sensory terms. This indicates that the CATA method is able to provide more information on which sensory attributes were perceived by a child population to be different from equally‐liked samples, providing more information regarding their drivers of liking (Laureati et al, ). These findings are in line with those reported by Schouteten, De Steur, et al () who examined the possibility of using the CATA response format to obtain discriminatory sensory profiles for speculoos biscuits with a child and teenage population.…”

“…These findings are in line with those reported by Schouteten, De Steur, et al () who examined the possibility of using the CATA response format to obtain discriminatory sensory profiles for speculoos biscuits with a child and teenage population. Furthermore, studies working with children and teenagers showed that the CATA response format is able to obtain distinguished sensory profiles for powdered fruit‐flavored juices (Cardinal et al, ), milk desserts (Vidal et al, ), fiber‐enriched apple purees (Laureati et al, ), and grape nectar (Lima, Ares, & Deliza, ).…”

“…Traditional descriptive methods are rather complex, given their requirement for lengthy concentration and sufficient training to use rating scales and be objective. Therefore, they are not recommended for application with younger children (Laureati et al, ). However, Laureati, Pagliarini, Toschi, and Monteleone () confirmed that, according to recent scholarly articles (Caporale, Policastro, Tuorila, & Monteleone, ; Donadini, Fumi, Vanoni, & Porretta, ; Kildegaard, Tonning, & Thybo, ; Liem & Zandstra, ; Poelman & Delahunty, ), children (aged 4–11 years old) are able to perform most traditional consumer tests.…”

“…Moreover, a major advantage of this method when working with children is the lack of scaling, as this is a significant barrier for performing descriptive analysis with children (Nicklaus, ). Results from studies with milk desserts (Vidal, Barreiro, Gómez, Ares, & Giménez, ), powdered fruit‐flavored juices (Cardinal, Zamora, Chambers, Carbonell Barrachina, & Hough, ), biscuits (Schouteten, De Steur, Lagast, De Pelsmaeker, & Gellynck, ), and apple purees (Laureati et al, ) have indicated that the CATA approach can lead to discriminating sensory profiles when working with children and teenagers.…”