Acceptability of protein-fortified recipes in older adults in France

Abstract

Public health policies recommend food fortification, namely adding ingredients of nutritional interest into commonly consumed foods, to help older adults with reduced appetite achieve sufficient protein intake. The aim of the present study was to assess the acceptability and sensory perception of protein-fortified recipes in older adults. Two variants – standard and protein-fortified – were developed for six food products covering various food matrices (savoury/sweet, hot/cold, liquid/solid): bolognese sauce, mashed potato and carrot soup; stuffed pepper, apple crumble and vanilla custard. Sixty-five and 56 participants tested respectively in a sensory laboratory. All participants were 70 years or older and lived at home (women: 58 %). Participants were asked to rate liking and food oral processing for each sample as well as to describe its sensory characteristics (free comments, CATA). They were not informed about the nature of the difference between the variants, namely protein fortification. It was observed that using protein extracts to fortify food products results in texture alteration, with a granular, sticky, and compact texture. If this effect is minimal compared to the standard variant, it does not significantly impact liking. However, when the effect is more pronounced and/or accompanied by changes in taste and appearance, it leads to a decrease in product liking. Thus, having a fortified product that closely matches the standard product in all sensory aspects (taste, texture, appearance) appears crucial for consumer acceptability. This work lay the groundwork for further enhancing the functionality of protein extracts and/or the sensory properties of fortified recipes in order to develop palatable protein-enriched foods.