Taste and Food Preferences

Tastes can change our feeding behavior, either by motivating further eating or by leading to rejection of a food or beverage. This capability of shifting [Page 970]behavior is accompanied by positive or negative affective responses to those foods and beverages: We like or dislike them. By origin a biologically relevant facility, taste perception has a great impact on the food industry and society. Food-product development is directed to produce tasty foods worldwide, to gain popularity among consumers, and thus to increase sales. At the same time, easy access to a wide supply of good-tasting foods creates a risk for human health and well-being, as such foods are likely to motivate excess consumption or bias choices toward unhealthy options.

Tastes are the core of sensory properties of ...