Vegetables by stealth. An exploratory study investigating the introduction of vegetables in the weaning period

A Qualitative Study of Mothers Perceptions of Weaning and the Use of Commercial Infant Food in the United Kingdom

“…This contrast in when to commence complementary feeding has previously been reported to vary by country [28][29][30]. A recent online questionnaire study of 3607 mothers, suggested that those who weaned early were more focused on putative signs of readiness, whereas those weaning later were more focused on the infant reaching the recommended age.…”

“…The wish to provide flavorsome and nutritious foods, characterized by the "taste" "goodness" and "the truth" factors, has also been reported previously [27,28], although the groups of mothers in their studies were not selected specifically on the basis that they were using commercial infant foods. The perception of commercial baby food as potentially superior and safer to home-made foods and possibly composed of better ingredients is, to our knowledge, a novel finding.…”

“…For example, a German study reported that a higher percentage intake of commercially produced baby food was strongly associated with a lower vegetable intake, even when controlling for socioeconomic status and early life factors [14]. This could be due to the specific combination of ingredients that may mask or interfere with learning about the particular flavor of single vegetables [28]. In support of this argument, Garcia et al [13] investigation of commercially available infant foods in the UK found that 8.5% of savory products also had added fruit, giving them a sweet taste.…”

Satisfaction, satiation and food behaviour

“…In experiments using already well-known foods, not much change was seen, but for novel foods intake often rose by a factor of 4-5 [35][36][37][38][39][40]41 ]. Flavour-flavour learning was also found to be effective, although not to the same extend as repeated exposure, but flavour-flavour learning might be a useful method to help neophobic children overcome their fear of novel foods by applying an already wellknown and liked flavour in the intervention phase.…”

Addressing Whole Grain Deserts-Promoting Practical Applications to Increase Whole Grain Availability

“…Marketing whole grain foods for their nutritional benefits must be done carefully, as it may backfire; while individuals vary in their ability to detect between whole and refined grain foods, they agree that whole grains are nutritious but also less visually attractive, less tasty, more expensive, and less available (1,8). Delivering whole grains via stealth is being debated since foods with "an image problem" have been accepted and eaten when consumers are unaware (2,4).…”