Salivary microbial profiles associate with responsiveness to warning oral sensations and dietary intakes.

Oral microbiota-host interactions are gaining recognition as potential factors contributing to interindividual variations in taste perception. However, whether such possible links imply specific bacterial co-occurrence networks remains unknown. To address this issue, we used 16 s rRNA gene sequencing to profile the salivary microbiota of 100 healthy individuals (52 % women; 18-30 y/o), who provided hedonic and psychophysical responses to 5 liquid and 5 solid commercially-available foods, each chosen to elicit a target sensation (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, pungent). The same cohort also completed several psychometric measures and a 4-day food diary. Unsupervised data-driven clustering of genus-level Aitchison distances supported the existence of two salivary microbial profiles (CL-1, CL-2). While CL-1 (n = 57; 49.1 % women) exhibited higher α-diversity metrics and was enriched in microbial genera assigned to the class Clostridia (e.g., Lachnospiraceae_[G-3]), CL-2 (n = 43; 55.8 % women) harbored greater amounts of taxa with potential cariogenic effects (e.g., genus Lactobacillus) and significantly lower abundances of inferred MetaCyc pathways related to the metabolic fate of acetate. Intriguingly, CL-2 showed enhanced responsiveness to warning oral sensations (bitter, sour, astringent) and a higher propensity to crave sweet foods or engage in prosocial behaviors. Further, the same cluster reported habitually consuming more simple carbohydrates and fewer beneficial nutrients (vegetable proteins, monounsaturated fatty acids). In summary, while the mediating role of participants' baseline diet on findings can not be definitively excluded, this work provides evidence suggesting that microbe-microbe and microbe-taste interactions may exert an influence on dietary habits and motivates further research to uncover a potential "core" taste-related salivary microbiota.

Acids in brewed coffees: Chemical composition and sensory threshold.

Coffee brewed on light, and very light-roast coffee beans have emerged as a recent trend among specialty coffee drinkers. The acidity of such light-roast coffee, and coffee in general, is an important sensory characteristic, as there is demonstrated a clear correlation between the roast level and perceived acidity in brewed coffee. The acidity is believed to be strongly linked to the content and composition of organic acids in coffee. Still, there is limited literature on acid content in brewed coffee and on the relevance of specific acid concentrations to sensory perception. In this study, we determined concentrations of acids and sugars in French-press brewed specialty coffee. We used varying roast degrees in the light to very light range using five coffees from different geographical locations (Brazil, Bolivia, and Kenya) and determined the sensory detection threshold and recognition for selected acids. The concentration of all individual acids except one (formic) either significantly decreased (citric, malic, and chlorogenic acid) or increased (acetic, lactic, phosphoric, quinic, and glycolic acid) systematically with an increasing roast degree, while no systematic trends were found between the different coffee samples. The sugar content decreased with an increasing roast degree. The sensory detection threshold for malic, acetic, and lactic acid was determined to be above the actual concentration of said acids in the coffee and just below for phosphoric acid, indicating that these compounds are unlikely to individually be perceived in coffee. Only citric acid can be clearly detected in the threshold test (not identified by experts in coffee) in concentrations above the measured concentrations, as the detection threshold was below (<0.16 g/L) the concentration found in the investigated coffees (0.23-0.60 g/L). The measured citric acid concentration was found to be much higher for the Brazil coffees (0.49 ± 0.08 g/L) compared to the Bolivia coffee (0.40 ± 0.11 g/L), and the Kenya coffees (0.30 ± 0.07 g/L). Furthermore, none of the acids added to the coffee were correctly recognized by coffee experts when spiked with measured average concentrations. Combined, the results question the direct relation between individual organic acids and acidity in coffee and point towards a more complex understanding of perceived acidity.

Consumer perception of plant-based yoghurt: Sensory drivers of liking and emotional, holistic and conceptual associations.

Plant-based (PB) yoghurts is a rapidly expanding food category with the potential to reduce many of the negative environmental impacts associated with the farming of dairy cattle and related greenhouse gas emissions. Within the context of growing consumer demand for PB products, this research aimed to identify the main drivers of consumer acceptance of PB yoghurts through data drawn from a consumer study of 113 adult New Zealand participants who tasted a representative range of commercially available vanilla-flavoured PB yoghurts, and provided sample evaluations using a multi-variable measurement approach comprised of liking ratings, emotional responses, sensory characterisations, and holistic / conceptual perceptions. The primary finding of this study was that the overall acceptability of currently available PB yoghurts is low, leading to poor attitudes and low willingness to consume PB yoghurts. The examined products were characterised by the presence of several sensory attributes that negatively impacted consumer liking, either because they were unexpected or because their intensity level was too high. Among the main sensory issues identified were perceived sourness (acidity), lumpy appearance and non-white colour. In contrast, vanilla flavour and a creamy/smooth texture were identified as the main drivers of liking. The multi-response approach used in this study enabled a comprehensive characterisation of the products. One of the key insights gained was that negative emotional activation, caused by the presence of unexpected sensory attributes in the samples, was the main driver of product rejection. This was likely due to the disparity between consumers' sensory expectations, formed primarily based on their experience with dairy yoghurts, and the actual experience upon tasting the PB yoghurts. Overall, the findings indicate that the sensory properties of currently available PB yoghurts are a significant barrier to their adoption by most consumers and that addressing these sensory deficiencies is essential to achieving mainstream market acceptance of these products.

Consumer Preference Segments for Plant-Based Foods: The Role of Product Category.

A survey of willingness to consume (WTC) 5 types of plant-based (PB) food was conducted in USA, Australia, Singapore and India (n = 2494). In addition to WTC, emotional, conceptual and situational use characterizations were obtained. Results showed a number of distinct clusters of consumers with different patterns of WTC for PB foods within different food categories. A large group of consumers did not discriminate among PB foods across the various food categories. Six smaller, but distinct clusters of consumers had specific patterns of WTC across the examined food categories. In general, PB Milk and, to a much lesser extent, PB Cheese had highest WTC ratings. PB Fish had the lowest WTC, and two PB meat products had intermediate WTC. Emotional, conceptual and situational use characterizations exerted significant lifts/penalties on WTC. No penalty or lifts were imparted on WTC by the situational use of 'moving my diet in a sustainable direction', whereas uses related to 'when I want something I like' and 'when I want something healthy' generally imparted WTC lifts across clusters and food categories. The importance of this research for the study of PB foods is its demonstration that consumers are not monolithic in their willingness to consume these foods and that WTC is often a function of the food category of the PB food.

Conceptualizing a Gluten-Free Instant Noodle Prototype Using Environmental Sustainability Aspects: A Cross-National Qualitative Study on Thai and Danish Consumers.

Gluten-free food products have been developed to satisfy the needs of consumers with celiac disease. However, there has been little research on the product feature development of sustainable gluten-free instant noodles through a qualitative study to explore the customer insights related to environmental attitude and purchase decision. Using a cross-national comparative study between Thai and Danish consumers, this study aims to (1) identify the target customer segments for each country; (2) explore the target customer segments regarding behaviours, desired outcomes, and pain points; and (3) suggest gluten-free instant noodle product prototypes suitable for each country. With a qualitative interview approach, 60 target customers (30 Thai and 30 Danish) were recruited to participate in this research. In addition, a thematic analysis was undertaken to examine their behaviours, desired outcomes, and pain points toward sustainable gluten-free instant noodle products. The findings revealed that convenience-oriented customers were the target segment of gluten-free instant noodle products in Thailand. This segment primarily focused on convenience as the main reason for consuming instant noodles and had common pain points in terms of taste. In contrast, environment-oriented customers were the target customer segment in Denmark. This segment consisted primarily of young women who eat less meat and shared common pain points such as difficulty accessing more sustainable options. Hence, there is a need to educate customers in Thailand (an emerging economy) and increase their awareness regarding environmental sustainability and consumption.

The effect of high-pressure processing on sensory quality and consumer acceptability of fruit juices and smoothies: A review.

Increasing consumer demand for high-quality, additive-free fruit and vegetable products with 'fresh-like' sensory properties has led to the development of novel 'minimal processing' technologies. As a prime example, high pressure processing (HPP) is increasingly applied as an alternative to thermal processing (TP) to maintain the properties of fresh fruit-based juices and smoothies. However, the resulting products need to be validated from a sensory standpoint. Situated within this context, this paper provides a narrative review of sensory studies focused on high pressure treated fruit juices and smoothies published in the last ≈25 years (1995 to 2021), centered around three objectives: (i) to review methods used for assessing the sensory quality, (ii) to review knowledge of the effect of HPP on sensory quality, and (iii) to understand consumers' acceptability towards these products. Overall, most sensory studies concluded that a combination of HPP and low temperature storage preserved the sensory properties better than TP, and thereby enables the production of products with 'fresh-like' quality. Yet, most published studies employed very small panel sizes and often showed a mismatch between test type and assessors employed (for example, using consumers for analytic tests and trained assessors for affective tests), which might lead to biased results. In future research, a clearer focus on experimental conditions, proper sensory methods, and more focus on the relationship between sensory quality and consumer perception are needed to better understand the effect of HPP on the sensory quality of fruit juices and smoothies.

Factors affecting consumer choice of novel non-thermally processed fruit and vegetables products: Evidence from a 4-country study in Europe.

A wide variety of novel non-thermal processing technologies (NTPTs) are under development to meet the increasing consumer demand for high-quality fruit and vegetable (F&V) products. Understanding consumers' needs and possible barriers to acceptance of these technologies is however essential to assess the commercial feasibility of mildly processed F&Vs. Situated within this context, and extending previous work on the topic, in this paper we present results from a large-scale choice-based conjoint analysis consumer survey to investigate consumers' choice behavior towards NTPT-processed F&V products in four European countries - Denmark, Italy, Serbia, and Spain, using three model products - orange juice, iceberg salad, and cherry tomatoes respectively processed via three NTPT - mild processing, novel washing, and active packaging, compared to three conventional processing techniques - pasteurization, conventional washing, and conventional packaging, respectively. Images of the three product categories were developed to systematically vary in three key attributes: stated benefits (health and nutrition, natural taste, shelf-life), information on processing (conventional, NTPT), and price point (reference, premium price). The results showed that, out of the three attributes considered, "stated benefit" was the most important driver of consumer choice - in all countries and across product categories. Benefits relevant to health and nutrition, and to natural taste were more positively received, compared to extension of shelf-life. Information on processing and price levels had a similar influence on consumer choice of iceberg salad and cherry tomatoes, whilst for orange juice processing had a larger effect than price, suggesting that information on processing may be more impactful for F&V-derived products than for fresh produce. Individual differences among consumers according to country, age, gender, and dietary status, appeared small and transient. The most consequential individual characteristic was consumers' level of food technology neophobia (FTN), with results showing that high FTN consumers (17% of the sample) were less likely to choose F&V treated with NTPT, compared to consumers with medium or low FTN. Overall, this research suggests that products treated with NTPT may have a broad appeal across European consumers, and that targeted communication explicitly and efficiently focusing on health and taste benefits has the greatest chance to meet consumer preferences.

Sensory drivers of perceived situational appropriateness in unbranded foods and beverages: Towards a deeper understanding.

Measures of product performance that effectively predict food and beverage choices are highly sought after. A simple method to add value to hedonic data is that of item-by-use (IBU) appropriateness, where consumers are presented with a list of possible consumption situations and asked to indicate how well a product fits them. A persistent misconception surrounding this approach is that it is relevant for discriminating between different products, but not between variants within the same product category, which is often the focus of sensory and consumer studies. To provide a deeper understanding of the sensory underpinnings of appropriateness, the present work presents experimental evidence from six consumer studies (116-210 consumers per study) employing unbranded product variants from the same category. Products were successfully discriminated based on IBU appropriateness in all studies, even when sensory variation was unidimensional and controlled (such as a basic lemonade recipe varying in sugar content). While product differentiation based on the sensory profiles was greater than differentiation based on appropriateness, the results clearly show that sensory variation, in and of itself, is sufficient to elicit differences in perceived appropriateness. As expected, the degree of inter-product differences in appropriateness was approximately linearly related to the degree of differences in sensory profiles. Finally, while some sensory properties independently affected perceived appropriateness, the magnitude (and in some cases the direction) of the effects often depended on the level of product liking.

Barriers to consumption of plant-based beverages: A comparison of product users and non-users on emotional, conceptual, situational, conative and psychographic variables.

Production and consumption practices that reduce the environmental burden of eating and drinking and promote global sustainability are of paramount interest. Against this background, we present a quantitative study of US adults' perceptions of selected non-alcoholic beverages including pairs of regular and plant-based alternatives (iced coffee/iced coffee with almond milk, fruit smoothie/fruit smoothie with soy milk and cow's milk/oat milk). Particular focus was directed to comparing product perceptions of consumers who never consumed these plant-based alternatives with those who did (n = 249 and n = 274), as a means for contextualising the barriers that hinder uptake among non-users. The data were collected via an online survey with a multi-response empirical strategy where the beverages were characterised using a large set of emotional, conceptual, situational, and attitudinal/behavioural variables. Fitting expectations, negative associations were dominant in the group of consumers who never consumed the plant-based beverage variants. However, these associations were product dependent and decreased in the order: oat milk, fruit smoothie with soy milk and iced coffee with almond milk. This pointed to a likely interplay of sensory properties, situational appropriateness and household routines. Food neophobia negatively influenced perceptions of less familiar products, including but not limited to plant-based beverages. While the research was limited to a small number of beverages and plant-based alternatives, it identified the important role that in-depth and product-specific investigations have in helping to uncover and overcome barriers to sustainable eating and drinking solutions.

Impact of COVID-19 confinement on eating behaviours across 16 European countries: The COVIDiet cross-national study.

We aimed to evaluate the changes in eating behaviours of the adult population across 16 European countries due to the COVID-19 confinement and to evaluate whether these changes were somehow related to the severity of the containment measures applied in each country. An anonymous online self-reported questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics, validated 14-items Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) Adherence Screener (MEDAS) as a reference of a healthy diet, eating and lifestyle behaviours prior to and during the COVID-19 confinement was used to collect data. The study included an adult population residing in 16 European countries at the time of the survey. Aggregated Stringency Index (SI) score, based on data from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker, was calculated for each country at the time the questionnaire was distributed (range: 0-100). A total of 36,185 participants completed the questionnaire (77.6% female, 75.2% with high educational level and 42.7% aged between 21 and 35 years). In comparison to pre-confinement, a significantly higher adherence to the MedDiet during the confinement was observed across all countries (overall MEDAS score prior to- and during confinement: 5.23 ± 2.06 vs. 6.15 ± 2.06; p < 0.001), with the largest increase seen in Greece and North Macedonia. The highest adherence to MedDiet during confinement was found in Spain and Portugal (7.18 ± 1.84 and 7.34 ± 1.95, respectively). Stricter contingency restrictions seemed to lead to a significantly higher increase in the adherence to the MedDiet. The findings from this cross-sectional study could be used to inform current diet-related public health guidelines to ensure optimal nutrition is followed among the population, which in turn would help to alleviate the current public health crisis.

Reported Changes in Dietary Habits During the COVID-19 Lockdown in the Danish Population: The Danish COVIDiet Study.

This paper focuses on the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the dietary habits of adult Danes. Two aspects were specifically considered: 1) reported changes in intake of specific food categories and 2) effect on healthy eating, operationalized as adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MEDAS score). Respondents (N = 2,462) completed a 44-items self-administered online survey designed for the assessment of their socio-demographic characteristics, general food habits, and consumption frequency of selected foods (mainly related to the MedDiet) during the lockdown. The data indicated that the lockdown has affected dietary habits of adult Danes to a relatively limited degree. The most important findings were that a substantial proportion of respondents (≥28%) reported eating more, snacking more, exercising less, and gaining weight during the lockdown. Results could be linked to the amount of time spent at home (e.g., a higher cooking frequency) a higher degree of emotional eating during the lockdown (e.g., a higher consumption of pastries and alcohol). Women were generally affected to a higher degree than men. Additionally, dietary changes during the lockdown to a certain degree reflected pre-existing (un)healthy eating habits, as positive health outcomes were observed in respondents with a high MEDAS score and negative outcomes (e.g., weight gain and higher intakes of pastries and carbonated beverages) were associated with respondents with a low MEDAS score. These changes, if sustained long-term, are potentially concerning from a public health perspective, especially given that more than half of the respondents were characterized by a low adherence to the MedDiet.

European Consumers' Perceptions and Attitudes towards Non-Thermally Processed Fruit and Vegetable Products.

In order to meet the demand for high-quality fruit and vegetable (F&V) products, a wide variety of novel non-thermal processing (NTP) technologies are under development. This study used a qualitative focus group approach to investigate consumers' perception and attitudes towards non-thermally processed F&V products among young (18-30 years old) and middle-aged (45-60 y.o.) consumers across six European countries: Denmark, Germany, Italy, Serbia, Spain, and the Netherlands. Findings show that the expected benefits and social concerns are important factors which affect consumers' attitudes toward non-thermally processed F&V. Extending shelf-life, being healthier and more nutritious, and better hygiene and safety were important benefits, whilst impacts on product quality, safety risks, higher price and environmental costs were the concerns most often mentioned by participants. However, due to a lack of knowledge and trustworthy information sources, consumers have difficulties in assessing relevant benefits and risks. Targeted communication that could explicitly and efficiently reveal benefits and risks is highly recommended to enhance consumer awareness and trust. This may especially be needed to reach middle-aged consumers who showed less confidence in NTP, compared to young consumers. Consumers from Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands appeared more interested in consuming NTP F&V, compared to Italy, Serbia, and Germany. These findings are expected to provide recommendations to better communicate non-thermally processed F&V with consumers in the EU.

Arousal influences olfactory abilities in adults with different degree of food neophobia.

Food neophobia, i.e., the aversion to novel foods, and olfaction are both factors strongly affecting food choices. Mounting evidence suggests a higher arousal towards food as a key factor underlying the reluctance to eat what is unfamiliar to us. As the role of olfaction behind this phenomenon is poorly understood, we explored the associations between food neophobia and trait anxiety, olfactory functions (odor threshold, discrimination and identification) and retronasal aroma release from a reference food in a healthy cohort of 83 adult volunteers. We grouped participants in Low-Neophobics or neophilics (n = 35), Medium-Neophobics (n = 32) and High-Neophobics (n = 16) according to the widely recognized Food Neophobia Scale. Participants with higher neophobic tendencies were found to have marginally higher trait anxiety levels than neophilics (p = 0.10). A lower global olfactory functioning and odor discrimination abilities characterized High-Neophobics, while Medium-Neophobics showed a higher odor sensitiveness than Low-Neophobics. Lastly, High-Neophobics showed a lower extent of retronasal aroma release, likely due to a shorter duration of oral processing and higher anxiety-related physiological responses (such as breathing rate). In summary, this study supports the assumption that the conflicting relationship that neophobics have with food may be led by higher levels of arousal toward foods, rather than different chemosensory functions.

Perceived Situational Appropriateness as a Predictor of Consumers' Food and Beverage Choices.

This research investigated whether perceived situational appropriateness (defined as the degree of fit between product and intended usage situations) is predictive of consumer choices for foods and beverages, on the theoretical premise that intended usage situation acts as a frame of reference in orienting choices. Extant research on the topic, though suggestive of a link, is very limited in scope and almost completely lacking with regards to choice behavior (as opposed to other aspects, such as food acceptability or intake). To address the hypotheses, data collected in a series of 15 experiments (N = 2,813 consumers in total)-covering a wide range of product categories and usage situations-are presented. In all studies, participants evaluated a set of stimuli varying with respect to perceived appropriateness (low to high), and evaluated each stimulus either monadically using a choice likelihood scale or by performing a discrete choice task. Regression analyses from all studies consistently indicated that perceived appropriateness significantly predicted choice response. The results were robust with respect to variation in product category and experimental protocol and, overall, strongly support the notion that appropriateness can provide a simple yet powerful (in some case accounting for over 50% of variance) predictor of consumer choice. Effect sizes varied substantially: perceived appropriateness explained from a minimum of 3% to over 65% of variance in consumer choice, and this variation was linearly related to the degree of product heterogeneity in the product sets. This research also investigated possible moderators of the link between appropriateness and choice, by relating the results to consumers' product familiarity and involvement. While both traits significantly (and positively) affected choice, they did not interact with appropriateness. Possible explanations for these results, as well as other possible candidate moderators to explore in future research, are highlighted.

Consumer perception of snack sausages enriched with umami-tasting meat protein hydrolysates.

Adequate protein intake is necessary to maintain muscle mass and function. Nutritionally dense(r) products are increasingly sought after by consumers that need a heightened protein intake, such as active young and elderly individuals. This paper focuses on functional snack sausages enriched with umami-tasting meat protein hydrolysates (MPH), developed by systematically varying in recipe, meat type and MPH content. A consumer study (N = 100) was conducted where young and elderly consumers evaluated perceived acceptability and sensory quality of samples. Additionally, textural (Warner-Braztler shear test) and chemical (amino acids) analyses on the same samples were conducted to give a complete characterization of the functionality of the hydrolysates. Both the consumer test and the instrumental analyses consistently indicated that the enrichment with MPH had minor or no influence on the perceptual quality of the sausages, suggesting that this ingredient can be added to increase the nutritional density of a reference meat product without negatively affecting consumer acceptability.

Older consumers' attitudes towards food carriers for protein-enrichment.

Understanding the demands of older consumers is of importance for successful development of functional foods targeted at this segment of the population. This study aimed to examine older adults' attitudes towards food carriers for protein enrichment. In total 182 consumers (mean age: 66.6 ±â€¯6.9) participated in a survey designed to evaluate their willingness to try and purchase 16 target food carriers for protein enrichment. Food carriers were chosen to vary systematically on three fundamental dimensions: healthiness (healthy vs. unhealthy), novelty (traditional vs. novel), and types of meal (meal-component vs. snack). Results showed that among the carrier formats, older consumers were most willing to purchase and try healthy, traditional meal component foods enriched with protein. By segmenting older consumers using a latent class approach, an increase in purchase willingness of protein-enriched foods was found when protein-enriched foods were tailored to particular segments, suggesting that a segmentation-based approach to product development would be beneficial. Future studies may need to explore older consumers' actual purchase intention through the tasting of appealing protein-enriched foods in real life, which might help reduce older consumers' skepticism towards protein-enriched foods.

Rapid computation and visualization of data from Kano surveys in R.

OBJECTIVE: The Kano model for user satisfaction is a popular survey-based method used by product designers to prioritize the inclusion and implementation of product features based on users' requirements. Despite its overall simplicity, a current drawback of the Kano approach is that the data analysis and processing of users' responses is laborsome and rather prone to human error. To address this drawback, this paper provides and presents a complete code to conduct a rapid yet comprehensive computation and visualization of Kano data in R. RESULTS: A detailed walkthrough of the code is provided, together with a sample dataset to demonstrate its functionality. The code is encapsulated on a simple function that can substantially decrease the time for evaluating Kano results, speeding up its application in the context of product development.

Whey protein stories - An experiment in writing a multidisciplinary biography.

This is an experimental, dual-purpose article about whey protein and how to conduct interdisciplinary analyses and writings. On the one hand, this article is a multidisciplinary commodity biography, which consists of five descriptions of whey protein written by the five different research groups involved in the interdisciplinary research project CALM(Counteracting Age-related loss of Skeletal Muscle Mass). On the other hand, it is a meta-analysis, which aims to uncover and highlight examples of how the five descriptions contribute to each other with insights into the contextualisation of knowledge, contrasts between the descriptions and the new dimensions they bring to established fields of interest. The meta-analysis also contains a discussion of interdisciplinary study objects and the usefulness of the multidisciplinary commodity biography as a format for interdisciplinary publications. The article contributes to the field of food studies with a multidisciplinary biography of whey protein - including its sensory qualities and challenges, insights into its cultural history, its nutritional value and effects on the human body and an analysis of how it is perceived by people who consume it. The biography thereby expands upon existing understandings of whey protein while discussing the usefulness of employing the commodity biography format in interdisciplinary writing. Moreover, the article contributes to the field of interdisciplinary research by providing a practical example of a joint publication and reflections upon the existence, interaction and possibilities of monodisciplinary knowledge structures within interdisciplinary studies and publications.

Stimulus collative properties and consumers' flavor preferences.

The present work investigated consumers' hedonic response to flavor stimuli in light of Berlyne's collative-motivational model of aesthetic preferences. According to this paradigm, sensory preferences are a function of a stimulus' arousal potential, which is determined by its collative properties. The relationship between overall arousal potential and hedonic response takes the shape of an inverted "U", reaching an optimum at a certain level of arousal potential. In three independent studies, using different sets of novel beers as stimuli, consumers reported their hedonic response and rated three collative properties: novelty, familiarity and complexity. Relationships between these collative properties and hedonic ratings were explored by polynomial regression. The results revealed patterns in line with Berlyne's predictions (curvilinear relationship) with regard to perceived novelty, whereas mixed results were obtained for familiarity and complexity. Additionally, in two of the studies, the moderating role of relevant consumer characteristics - product knowledge, food neophobia and variety seeking tendency - was investigated. A consumer's degree of product knowledge was found to significantly reduce perceived complexity and novelty, ostensibly reflecting the learning that occurs with previous exposures.