Hands-on texture. Evaluating texture and target congruency in sensory play on children's food acceptance

Food rejection is common in early childhood and may lead to insufficient intake of fruits, vegetables, and other essential nutrients. Food texture can play a major role in these rejections, as young children often refuse foods with challenging textures. Previous studies suggest that tactile exposure, such as sensory play with food or similar non-food materials, can increase children's willingness to try foods. However, it remains unclear whether these effects depend on familiarity with the specific texture, the specific food, or the combination. This study compared the effects of texture-based and target-based exposure on food acceptance in children aged 4-6 years. A total of 131 children from four Dutch elementary schools were randomly assigned to one of four conditions in a 2 × 2 factorial design: exposure to both the target fruit and its texture (passionfruit seeds), similar texture only (basil seeds), target fruit only (whole passionfruit), or neither (polystyrene foam balls). Acceptance of passionfruit seeds was rated on a 7-point behavioral scale ranging from 1 (physical refusal) to 7 (having an additional bite). Parents completed the Child Food Rejection Scale (CFRS) and the Touch subscale of the Sensory Profile (SP-t). A 2x2 ANOVA revealed no significant differences in food acceptance between the four conditions. Overall, passionfruit elicited polarized responses, with approximately half of the children accepting and half refusing the fruit. Higher CFRS scores were associated with lower acceptance, indicating that children perceived as more food-rejective were less willing to accept the fruit. As the present single-session intervention did not significantly alter food acceptance, future studies could explore whether repeated or more naturalistic, mealtime-based sensory play interventions are more effective in promoting children's willingness to try challenging foods.