Differential effects of sugar and fat reduction on consumer sensory perception

This study aimed to enhance our understanding of the sensory interactions between sugar and fat, as well as how individual differences influence our perception and preference for food products. First, we examined whether reducing fat decreased perceived sweetness intensity and whether lowering sweetness decreased perceived fat-associated attributes. Secondly, we looked into how consumer liking patterns differed regarding sucrose and fat reduction and replacement. Lastly, we explored whether individual differences in taste sensitivity could explain these variations in liking patterns. We conducted a consumer study ( n = 148) with six chocolate milk samples, which included two concentrations of fat and sucrose and partial substitutions with gellan gum and acesulfame-K (Ace K), evaluating both liking and intensity. We also tested consumers' taste sensitivity to sweetness and fat. We found that reducing fat reduced the perceived sweetness intensity and that reducing sweetness reduced the perceived creaminess intensity. Moreover, we identified three distinct liking patterns, illustrating that consumers differ in how their liking is influenced by reductions in fat or sucrose and how their liking varies with substituting sucrose with Ace-K and fat with gellan gum. Finally, sensitivity to milk fat could not explain any of the differences observed in the liking patterns. Sensitivity to sweetness was linked to fat liking, and consumers with higher sweetness sensitivity maintained a strong preference for sugar-reduced chocolate milk. • Lowering the sweetener content significantly lowered fat perception. • Lowering the fat content significantly lowered the sweetness perception. • Sweetness sensitivity was associated with liking of fat. • High sweet sensitive consumers maintained high liking in reduced-sugar chocolate milk.