Understanding disgust-based food rejection in picky and non-picky eaters: Willingness to touch and taste familiar foods with changes

Abstract

The tendency to feel disgusted is associated with picky eating, however, no research has so far examined how this association translates into the evaluation of foods. 232 participants were recruited through the Prolific Academic crowdsourcing research tool: 127 picky eaters and 105 non-picky eaters. Online questionnaires about picky eating, disgust sensitivity, tactile sensitivity, and anxiety were completed. Participants were presented with 16 images of familiar foods (bread, chocolate, strawberries, pizza,) and rated their willingness to touch and taste the foods. The images were either an original image (e.g. plain bread), an edible change (e.g. bread with seeds), a contamination change (e.g. bread with a bite mark) or a degraded/spoil change (e.g. bread with mould). Across the whole sample, participants were more willing to say they would touch the food than taste it, and they were least likely to want to touch or taste food with signs of spoil or rot. Disgust sensitivity mediated the relationship between willingness to taste the original food and foods with both edible changes and signs of contamination or spoil. After controlling for willingness to touch and taste the original familiar food, picky eaters were less willing to touch and taste any food with a change compared to non-picky eaters. These findings indicate that picky eaters may perceive safe edible changes to food in a similar way to inedible changes, and for them any tactile contact with changed food is aversive. Further research is needed on strategies to lessen any maladaptive disgust responses in relation to changes to familiar, edible foods.