A new study reveals surprising differences in softness among the best -selling infants and why “more sugar” does not always mean a softer taste.
Study: Notes of sweetness of American infantiles. Image credit: New Africa / Shutterstock.com
A study published in Nutrients Assessed the properties of sweetness and the notes of six infants for infants commonly used in the United States, all from the two manufacturers with state level contracts for the special additional nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC). The evaluations of the sweetness of infantile samples in the United States have shown significant differences, which justify more research on the sensory, behavioral and health aspects of their use.
Infant nutrition and infantile composition
Several factors shape the eating behavior of children, including exhibition, food familiarity and the environment. Taste plays an essential role in selecting food. Compared to adults, children and infants have a greater preference for sweetness. Research suggests a relationship between an increase in the contribution of sweet foods and hedonic hunger, even in infants.
At least the first four months after birth, infants or breast milk preparations are the only source of food consumption, which is also the first exposure to sweetness. During this phase, sensory systems in infants can have increased neuronal sensitivity, which means that exposure to sweetness can have a stronger and more lasting influence on their taste preferences and their food behaviors than later in life. It is important to assess the flavor profile of infantiles. The heterogeneity of the flavor and sweetness is due to the differences in key components, such as fats, proteins, carbohydrates and additives.
In the United States, despite the overall regulation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the components of infantiles have significant differences and the carbohydrate content, which may include added sugars, remains largely unregulated. Research on the softness of infantiles and their potential effects on infant health is limited. More specifically, the level of sweetness of the American infant formula has not yet been quantified.
About the study
This study evaluated the signs of sweetness of six of the most used infant formulas in the United States of two manufacturers. The selected formulas included two standard milk formulas, two lactose reduced formulas with corn syrup solids, a lactose reduced formula with rice starch and a lactose -free soy -based formula.
He also highlighted the sensory attributes that influence the perception of flavors in infantile formulas. At Kansas State University-Palaus Campus (K-State Olathe), a sensory panel of 15 people was formed. Three distinct tests for sensory acuity screening were carried out to test an individual’s ability to detect, differentiate and quantify various saccharose concentrations. Only the candidates who obtained perfect scores, detecting, distinguishing and classifying all the samples of softness of the screening test, were selected to reach the sensory panel. This assured that only individuals with high sensory sensitivity participated in the study.
The sample included five men and ten women, with an average age of 56.1 years. All the members of the panel were not smokers and no known food allergy was reported. During the tests, strict environmental controls were maintained to minimize biases, including silent parts, without distraction, controlled lighting and temperature and cleaning the palate between the samples. The panel evaluated the formulas using a zero to fifteen zero scale, where fifteen represented extreme softness (16 g of sucrose / 100 ml of water) and zero represented no softness (distilled water). A 3 -way anova and post hoc pairs have been used to determine the differences in sweetness.
Study results
Analysis of the sensory panel has shown notable heterogeneity in the range of sweetness levels, with dimensions of individual samples ranging from 0 to 4.5. The average sweetness rating was 1.9. In all formulas, significant differences have been detected. A standard milk -based formula without added non -lactose sugars has been significantly softer than all other samples.
In addition, the dimensions of three other formulas with added non -lactary sugars were significantly lower than that of other samples. This discovery was surprising because lactose is the least sweet among common monosaccharides and disaccharides. Its relative sweetness varies from 15 to 40 years, compared to sucrose (100) and glucose (50–75). The authors note that other factors, such as slightly sweet or not sweet prebiotics, the bitterness of partially hydrolyzed proteins and the viscosity introduced by rice starch, may have reduced the perceived softness despite higher sweets of sweetness.
Prebiotics have been added in four infantiles, in particular fructooligosaccharides, polydextrose and / or galactigosaccharides. A lack of sweetness characterizes polydextrosis, while galactooligosaccharides and fructoligosaccharides are slightly sweet. Their inclusion could have influenced the overall softness profile of the samples analyzed. The type of protein, that is to say, partially or entirely hydrolyzed, affects the perception of sweetness. Although hydrolysis improves protein digestibility, it also results in a distinct bitter flavor profile.
Regarding comments on sensory attributes, the current words used were “sparkling” or “sparkling”, “herbous”, “creamy” and “afraid”. Sometimes soybeans are undressed to produce soy protein isolates, which could leave certain impurities affecting sensory quality. The current terms used during the assessment of the soy -based infant formula were “terrly”, “herbeum” and “grainy”.
Lipids could also affect the perception of the taste of infantiles. The samples analyzed contained variable combinations of high-Oleic carthame, soy, high-Oleic sunflowers and coconut oil. Four samples also contained the liquid fraction of palm oil. Although most of these oils are generally considered neutral or soft in flavor, coconut oil can have a sweet and detectable hazelnut flavor. The study also noted that the oxidation of lipids during treatment or storage can cause “off” flavors, which can interfere with the perception of sweetness.
Conclusions
The evaluations of the sweetness of the samples have shown marked heterogeneity and indicated significant differences between the formulas. Since the products tested represent a large part of American consumption of infants via WIC, the results have a large relevance in public health. This should lead to more research on sensory, behavioral and health aspects of the use of infant preparations.
A limitation of this study is that it did not include a representative sample of the planned population: infants. Instead, the perception of sweetness was evaluated using a panel qualified as adults with an average age of 56.1 years. This is essential to note because adults and infants differ in taste sensitivity, development physiology and food behavior, which means that the results may not fully reflect the way infants know the same formula.
The authors warn that sensitivity to the increased taste of infants and the various food behaviors mean that the derived sweets of adults may not reflect the experience of the infant.
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