1. How senses affect food choice
Nutrition ALS: Standards 7 and 11

2. 5 senses: Sensory reception or sensory perception
Taste: Gustation - the detection and identification by the sensory system of dissolved chemicals placed in contact with some part of an animal
Sight: Photoreception - physiological process of distinguishing, usually by the eye, the shapes and colors of objects
Smell: Olfaction - the detection and identification by sensory organs of airborne chemicals
Touch / Texture: Tactile - the detection and identification of the world through physical contact
Sound: response of an organism’s aural mechanism, the ear, to a specific form of energy change, or sound waves

4. How taste affects food choice
Sum of all sensory stimulation
5,000 – 10,000 taste buds on your tongue
Taste buds are replaced every 2 weeks
Each taste bud has taste receptors
Sweet = associated with pleasure
Salty = detects Sodium
Sour = detects Acidity
Bitter = associate with unpleasant

5. How sight affects food choice
Sight is your first impression of the food
Food is judged by appearance, off colors send messages to our brain that the taste should be off too
Color is added to fresh and processed foods to make them more appealing
Color intensity = Flavor intensity
Color affects meal appeal and taste perception
Food that looks better is perceived to taste better

6. How smell affects food choice
You can determine a food by smell alone
80% of what you taste is actually smell
Smell is the perception of chemicals in the air or in the food
Flavor is affected by food and environmental odors
Chemicals in foods are detected by your taste buds (receptors)
Odorants are detected by sensory neurons in the mucous membranes of the nose
Axons of sensory cells make their way to the brain which stimulate neural responses
The neurons create an odor map in the brain which creates perception of flavor
Losing your sense of smell will greatly reduce flavor perception and can lead to poor appetite and health

7. How the sense of sound affects food choice
People use sound mainly to tell the freshness of food
Crunchy texture = more appealing
Sounds can change our perception of how food will taste
Flat soda
Sounds make us want certain foods
Popcorn popping or certain commercials (kit-kat)
Sounds make our mouths water, producing saliva, starting the digestive process
Playing regional music in a restaurant makes the food taste more authentic
Outside sounds influence our perception of food
Smacking food = gross
Ocean sounds = seafood seems saltier
High pitched music = sweeter/softer
Low brass music = bitter/crunchier

8. How texture affects food choice
Taste perception is altered by the softness of the food
Crunchy = healthier
Crunchy = saltier
Softer = less healthy
Softer = less salty
Perceived freshness is also affected by texture
Mushy = not fresh
Crisp/Crunchy = fresh

9. Fresh produce rainbow slogan poster project
Create a catchy slogan highlighting the importance of a variety of colors of fresh produce in your diet.
Find pictures in magazines to cut out and put on a poster with your slogan
Poster Project Prize…. 10 points added to your lowest grade!