Food Research Institute

Ozturk, E. E. – Dikmen, D.
Food neophobia and its association with taste threshold and food liking among adults
Journal of Food and Nutrition Research, 62, 2023, No. 2, s. 99-110

Derya Dikmen, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Hacettepe University, Hacettepe Street, 06230 Ankara, Turkey. E-mail: ddikmen@hacettepe.edu.tr

Original article
Received 19 September 2022; 1st revised 25 January 2023; accepted 13 March 2023; published online 29 March 2023.

Summary: This study was designed to determine the relationship between taste threshold (sweet, bitter, sour, salt, fat), food neophobia and food liking. A total of 51 non-smoking and healthy individuals were recruited in Ankara, Turkey. The taste threshold was assessed using the 3-alternate forced choice methodology. Food neophobia score was applied to determine whether there was a fear of trying new foods. The food liking questionnaire had 50 items (sweet foods, salty foods, sour foods, bitter foods, fatty foods) based on taste classification. The subjects indicated their level of liking on a 10-point scale that ranged from 1 (“strongly disliking”) to 10 (“strongly liking”). The results showed that the sweet threshold and fat threshold of neophobics were higher than those of neophilics and neutral adults (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between food liking scores and either taste thresholds or food neophobia scores. However, food neophobia scores positively correlated with sweet and fat taste thresholds (p < 0.05). The findings suggest that food neophobia may be linked to some tastes, while food liking may depend on further factors, such as habits, food environment and any factor related to the food choice of the individuals.

Keywords: taste threshold; food neophobia; food liking; adult

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