Innovative foods and food technologies face barriers to adoption in Italy, where food plays a central role in identity and social life. This study investigates Italian consumer responses to seven innovative food products and technologies using a consumer survey (N = 2000), stratified by age, gender, and geographical region. The survey included psychometric scales assessing food neophobia, food technology neophobia, disgust sensitivity, trust, sensation seeking, and health interest. It measured perceptions of risk, benefit, familiarity, and emotions associated with each product. Findings indicate that Italian consumers show high levels of food and technological neophobia, coupled with low trust and strong health concerns. Acceptability varied significantly across sociodemographic groups: higher education and income were associated with higher trust and sensation seeking and lower neophobia, whereas female and older respondents exhibited higher disgust sensitivity and greater resistance to innovation. Exploratory clustering identified two broad clusters of aggregated consumer profiles. One cluster was associated with younger age, higher educational attainment and household income, together with greater trust and sensation seeking, whereas the other was associated with older age, lower educational attainment and household income, together with greater food and food technology neophobia and disgust sensitivity. Emotional responses emerged as correlates of acceptability, with curiosity most positively and disgust most negatively. Products most aligned with product ideals were plant-based proteins, algae, and unusual fruits, while insect-based proteins and cultured meat faced the greatest barriers. These findings highlight the importance of reinforcing trust and curiosity while addressing disgust to promote sustainable Italian food innovation.

The global plastic crisis necessitates a transition toward sustainable alternatives to fossil-based polymers. However, the widespread adoption of bioplastics is hindered by mechanical and barrier performance gaps compared to established industry standards, requiring a "formulation-for-purpose" approach to ensure functional competitiveness. Within this framework, home-compostable bioplastics represent a critical innovation, yet their environmental efficacy remains strictly dependent on overcoming technical, perceptual, and behavioral barriers at the consumer level.This study investigates these challenges through a consumer test with 110 Italian participants (55.4% females) who evaluated four packaging formats (bag, clamshell, film, sealed film tray), each in both home-compostable bioplastic (HCB) and conventional fossil-based plastic (FBP) versions. The methodology assessed affective responses (liking, purchase intent), sensory and functional properties, and declared disposal accuracy. These variables were analyzed against socio-demographics, habits, logo familiarity, and psycho-attitudinal profiles to identify key predictors.HCB packaging acceptance is highly format-dependent. While comparable to FBP for flexible formats, HCBs are penalized for attributes like high opacity, unless the perceived benefit of sustainability can offset other sensory flaws. A critical “bioplastic paradox” emerges: despite positive consumer acceptance, correct disposal rates for HCBs (65–74%) are significantly lower than for FBPs (89–96%). The strongest predictors of correct disposal are familiarity with the compostability logo and younger consumer age.These findings reveal the consumer as an indispensable actor in the HCB value chain, making their active engagement essential. Consequently, achieving the environmental promise of these products hinges on both industry-led innovation and policy-driven initiatives that foster informed consumer acceptance.

Adolescents are increasingly moving away from the Mediterranean Diet (MD), raising concerns for their long-term health. Since adolescence is crucial for shaping eating habits, school-based interventions offer an opportunity to promote healthier choices. Nutrition and sensory education can influence food attitudes and behaviors, but their combined effects are not well understood. This study tested school-based nutrition and sensory education programs, alone or combined, with daily exposure to a healthy, unfamiliar snack, on Italian adolescents' food knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour. A total of 197 students (aged 14-17) were assigned to one of four groups: Control, Nutrition, Sensory, or Nutrition and Sensory. Over four weeks, participants received targeted lessons and were offered a healthy snack each day. Data were collected at baseline, post-intervention, and at a two-month follow-up. Key outcomes included nutritional knowledge, adherence to the MD (KIDMED), food neophobia, picky eating, food choices, and acceptance of healthy snacks. Nutrition education improved nutritional knowledge and the ability to identify MD foods, with partial retention at follow-up. However, daily dietary habits showed little changes. Sensory education increased snack consumption and willingness to try unfamiliar foods. No significant changes were observed in food neophobia or picky eating. These findings highlight the value of integrating diverse, experience-based strategies into school settings to support the development of food knowledge and healthier food choices in adolescence.

Food waste (FW) in the European Union remains a significant challenge, with over 58 million tons generated annually. Consumer behavior, particularly in relation to food-date labels, is a key factor influencing FW. This study focuses on patterns of involvement with date labels, examining how understanding, attention, and behavioral responses to date labels vary across consumer segments. By clustering consumers based on these dimensions, the research aims to identify distinct involvement patterns toward date labels and the impact on FW decisions. The study involved 1507 consumers (54.6 % female, mean age = 44.9 years) from six EU countries (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden). Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing their understanding, attention, and behavioral responses to date labels, alongside their reported domestic FW behaviors, sociodemographics, and FW management skills. Results indicate that 75.2 % of European consumers understand the difference between 'use by' and 'best before' dates, and over 80 % correctly identify the meanings of these terms. Increased understanding correlates with reduced household FW, but this factor alone is insufficient to significantly lower waste levels. Additionally, enhanced use of date labels plays a crucial role in minimizing FW. The study identifies distinct consumer segments toward date labels: "Higher involvement" segment (23.9 % of subjects), who rely on date labels for food management, "Lower involvement" segment (33.4 %), who base their decisions on other elements such as sensory cues, and "Medium involvement" segment (42.6 %), which shows intermediate characteristics. This segmentation provides valuable insights for designing targeted interventions aimed at improving date label usage and reducing household FW.

Background/Objectives: As a peripheral effect of depression-related traits, sensory responses may predispose individuals to depressive symptoms by prompting suboptimal dietary patterns with long-term effects on mood. Mood disturbances in adolescence are strong predictors of adult mental illness, making it crucial to identify factors that may shift transient mood fluctuations into more severe mental health issues during this vulnerable period. Given the substantial gender differences in susceptibility to comorbidities of depression, we examined whether the link between sensory perception and depressive symptoms in nonclinical adolescents varied by gender and was related to dietary habits. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 232 healthy adolescents (41.8% girls, aged 13-17) reported their diet over the past year using the EPIC Food Frequency Questionnaire and rated their liking and perceived intensity of oral sensations from four grapefruit juices and dark chocolate puddings with varying sucrose levels. Additionally, participants completed assessments of anxiety, neuroticism, pickiness, body dissatisfaction, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to evaluate depressive symptoms. Results: We found that girls exhibited higher levels of depression, anxiety, neuroticism, and pickiness compared to boys (Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test), and that greater responsiveness to bitterness (e.g., β = 0.264, p = 0.037) and astringency (β = 0.269, p = 0.029) predicted higher depressive symptoms exclusively in girls. PHQ-9 scores were positively associated with alcohol use in both girls (ρ = 0.176, p = 0.003) and boys (ρ = 0.148, p = 0.004) and inversely related to the intake of beneficial nutrients (e.g., fiber, polyunsaturated fats), particularly in girls. Intriguingly, moderation analyses suggested that associations between nutrient intake and acuity for alarming oral sensations were largely moderated by depression-related traits in girls, but not in boys. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that gender moderates the links between depressive symptoms, sensory perception, and dietary habits in healthy adolescents, possibly reflecting gender-specific coping strategies for comorbidities of depression.

Eating habits become embedded during adolescence, a developmental stage where individuals increasingly assume responsibility for their dietary choices. Understanding the factors influencing these choices is essential for preventing unhealthy lifestyle patterns in adulthood. Food Neophobia (FN), a trait linked to limited dietary variety and quality as well as specific food preferences, is particularly important to investigate in adolescents. In this study, 200 adolescents (aged 14-17; 35 % girls and 65 % boys) participated in a Food Choice Task designed to evaluate their autonomous food choices across two dimensions: the willingness to select novel or unfamiliar products (reflecting dietary variety) and the inclination to choose healthy options (reflecting dietary quality). Foods depicted in images were categorised as familiar or unfamiliar based on a pilot study and as healthy or unhealthy based on whether they were inspired by the Mediterranean Diet (MD). Findings revealed that adolescents with higher levels of FN were less likely to choose unfamiliar foods. However, no significant differences were observed in the selection frequency between healthy and unhealthy foods based on FN scores. This may be due to the high familiarity and low arousal ratings associated with the foods in these categories, which could mask the effects of FN as no food reached a "warning threshold" that would induce rejection. To promote healthier eating habits among neophobic adolescents, it is recommended to provide simple, familiar food options that evoke minimal arousal, thereby supporting better dietary choices.

Local foods offer benefits for the sustainability of the food supply chain, yet they face challenges due to variability in production and market saturation. This highlights the importance of strategies to enhance their value. Among local foods, multifloral honey is one of the products most closely tied to the territory. A comprehension of how multifloral honey is structured from a sensory standpoint can prove advantageous in enhancing its recognition and valorization among consumers. The present study aimed to promote multifloral honey in the case of a local area, identifying typical examples of multifloral honey and their sensory determinants, and identifying the association among sensory attributes and affective-related responses of consumers. Thirty samples of multifloral honey were collected from a target local area (Trento province - Italy). Experts in honey sensory evaluation (n = 47) performed a rapid descriptive task (check-all-that-apply questions) and a categorization task (typicality evaluation). Six samples representative of the category sensory space were selected for consumer evaluation. Consumers recruited from the local area (n = 131) rated liking and elicited post-consumption emotional product associations. The results unveiled the sensory representation of the multifloral honey category, with samples arrangement in accordance with category typicality. The study defined the sensory characteristics associated with typicality of the multifloral honey from the target local area and identified local consumers' affectiverelated responses to the features that define the typicality. Beyond the honey realm, this approach can represent a model of a methodological approach for studying the enhancement of local foods that exhibit relevant sensory variability.

Given the global decline in adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (MD), even within its native region, it is key to identify the factors influencing this trend to mitigate the negative health outcomes associated with westernized diets. To this end, 4025 individuals (49.6% women, 42.6 ± 14.2 y/o) from Greece, Italy, Morocco, Slovenia, and Tunisia remotely completed a series of measures assessing motives, attitudes, and psychosocial factors related to MD adherence, which was evaluated using the MEDAS questionnaire. The results suggested medium-to-low adherence across all countries, with the highest adherence in Italy and Morocco and the lowest in Slovenia. Structural equation modeling revealed that positive attitudes toward the healthiness of food were the strongest predictors of adherence, whereas picky eating was a significant negative predictor in all countries except Greece. Adherence to the MD was positively influenced by health motivations in Morocco and weight control in Slovenia and Greece, while sensory appeal negatively influenced adherence in Italy. Additionally, price and convenience were significant barriers in Tunisia and Greece, whereas a preference for local and seasonal foods promoted adherence in Morocco and Greece. Overall, our findings underscore the need for country-specific interventions and policies that address distinct local factors and motivations to ease favorable shifts in dietary patterns toward MD principles.

The aquaculture industry is currently faced with the major challenge of finding alternative protein sources for feeding aquatic species. The goal is to mitigate the environmental impact of conventional feed production in order to satisfy the demand of consumers for sustainable and environmentally friendly food. Fishmeal and fish oil have been the predominant substrates used in the fish farming industry to date, but insects are now emerging as promising feed substitutes. However, the feeding of insects to fish continues to be perceived as unconventional by consumers, although only few studies have actually explored European consumers' attitudes towards animal food products fed with insects. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating consumer behaviors towards the consumption of fish fillets obtained from fish fed an insect-based feed. The overall goal was to understand the interconnection between sociodemographic variables, namely levels of knowledge, food neophobia, and food consumption sustainability, and attitudes towards feed quality, climate change, shopping sustainability, and the sustainability of insect-based feed. To this end, an online survey was conducted on 303 Italian consumers aged 18-78 years (52.4% men). The analysis of the dataset was conducted by modelling the independent categorical variables with their attitudes towards the four topics studied by Multiple Linear Regression, after having established their effects using the Pearson Chi-Square test and one-way ANOVA. Our results demonstrate that sociodemographic variables, such as gender and age, are strongly correlated with attitudes towards climate change, while diet is associated with attitudes towards shopping sustainability. The measured level of food consumption sustainability correlates with both attitudes. At the same time, a high level of knowledge correlates with a strong attitude towards the sustainability of insect-based feed. Overall, we conclude that providing specific groups of consumers with meaningful information related to the use of insect-based feed in aquaculture will increase the likelihood of their accepting this innovation. Our study also offers insights that can help identify categories of consumers who could be more interested in choosing products from insect-fed animals.

Abstract The need to maintain the production of local foods characterized by a high nutritional index, update traditional food production methodologies by developing attractive tech-based approaches, promote healthy eating habits that meet consumers’ preferences and acceptability, as well as reducing the complexity of supply chains (Farm to Fork) must be addressed to ensure food and nutrition security. This is especially true in Mediterranean countries undergoing dietary and nutritional changes that affect their inhabitants’ health while creating many socio-economic and environmental challenges. PROMEDLIFE aims to increase adherence to the Mediterranean diet through a multi-actor approach by encouraging the adoption of a healthy eating lifestyle while decreasing the environmental and economic impact of food production and processing. It also aims to attain optimal food communication and education through training programs that target primary and secondary students as well as their families, from children to older adults. A 4-week nutritional and sensory educational intervention in high school students involves frontal lessons, a web-app for families enrolled, and games on nutrients, food groups, balanced meals and various eating occasions, healthy and sustainable diets. In addition, adherence to the Mediterranean diet, nutritional knowledge, sociodemographic and lifestyle data, picky eating, and food neophobia are investigated. Including nutritional lectures in the school curriculum of high schools promotes knowledge acquisition about healthy diet. However, a period longer than 4 weeks may be necessary to translate this knowledge into improved eating habits. The project is still ongoing, and follow-up data collection will be performed. Final analysis, including data on picky eating and food neophobia, as well as overall eating behavior at follow-up, will allow an evaluation of possible long-term changes.

The research work shows the potentiality of advanced linear and nonlinear learning algorithm techniques in the prediction of apples texture sensory attributes as “hardness”, “crunchiness”, “flouriness”, “fibrousness”, and “graininess”. Starting from the information contained in the entire mechanical and acoustic curves acquired during samples compression test, the prediction performances of five different statistical tools as Partial Least Squares regression (PLS), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Regression (SVR) and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) are shown and discussed.All Predictive models validations evidence best accuracies for texture sensory attributes “hardness” and “crunchiness” and in general for GPR learning algorithm. By combining mechanical and acoustic profiles, 5-fold cross validations produce values of coefficient of determination R2 up to 0.885 (GPR) and 0.840 (GPR), respectively for “hardness” and “crunchiness”. These results, comparable to those obtained by considering a large number of mechanical and acoustic parameters extracted from acquired profiles as predictive factors, evidence a new and reliable way for the prediction of texture sensory attributes of apples. The proposed approach can overcome the necessity to define, in advance, number and type of features to be calculated from instrumental texture profiles and can be easily implemented in an automatic process.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in cheese, as result of the chemical, physical and microbiological properties of the raw milk, are related to its sensory properties and consumer's acceptability. Measurement of VOCs can be related to the quality of the production process, highlighting changes in the raw materials or the process con-ditions. In the present study, we tested the suitability of ANOVA-Simultaneous Component Analysis (ASCA) to extract useful information from volatile organic compound data measured over two years of production of Trentingrana cheese in a real production context where several confounding factors are present.A total of 317 cheese wheels were collected from the 15 cooperative dairy factories every two months. The ASCA analysis indicates that the milk collection affects the VOC profiles. To deeper investigate this factor, an Orthogonal Partial Least Squares Discriminant Analysis (OPLS-DA) model was developed to estimate the asso-ciations between VOCs and process characteristics of the dairy factory. Results showed that the milk collection procedure affects the content of organic acids, esters, and ketones of the cheeses.

Trentingrana hard cheese is a geographic specification of the PDO Grana Padano. It is produced according to an internal regulation by many cooperative dairy factories in the Trentino region (northern Italy), using a semi-artisanal process (the only allowed ingredients are milk, salt, and rennet). Within the PSR project TRENTINGRANA, colorimetric and textural measurements have been collected from 317 cheese wheels, which were sampled bi-monthly from all the consortium dairies (n = 15) within the timeframe of two years, to estimate the effect on physical properties related to the season of the year and the dairy factory implant. To estimate the effect of the dairy and the time of the year, considering the internal variability of each cheese wheel, a linear mixed-effect model combined with a simultaneous component analysis (LMM-ASCA) is proposed. Results show that all the factors have a significant effect on the colorimetric and textural properties of the cheese. There are five clusters of dairies producing cheese with similar properties, three different couples of months of the year when the cheese produced is significantly different from all the others, and the effect of the geometry of the cheese wheel is reported as well.

Interest in adult picky eating (PE), i.e., the unwillingness to eat familiar foods or try novel foods, has grown rapidly in the last decade as a result of its negative health consequences. Fairly poor data are available on the prevalence of PE in Italy, mostly due to the lack of a psychometrically sound tool to measure this construct. Thus, this contribution aimed at translating and validating the 20-item Adult Picky Eating Questionnaire (APEQ) for use in the Italian context. The APEQ was translated into Italian (IT-APEQ) following a standard forward-backward procedure and administered online to a large cohort of Italian adults (N = 1030, 69.9% women, 18-75 yo), who also completed a series of psychometric and dietary measures to test both the convergent and discriminant validity of the IT-APEQ. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the original four-factor structure of APEQ. The IT-APEQ showed invariance across genders, good internal consistency, and strong test-retest reliability (N = 599, 70.5% women, 18-75 yo). As expected, the IT-APEQ was positively associated with eating inflexibility, food neophobia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and disgust propensity/sensitivity, whereas it was anticorrelated with indices of diet variety. Moreover, we documented for the first time a negative link between adult PE and adherence to the Mediterranean diet. Our results suggest that the IT-APEQ demonstrates sound psychometric properties. Hence, we advocate its future usage to shed light into other correlates of PE in the Italian context and bolster cross-cultural research on adult PE, which is key to developing targeted strategies aimed at improving diet diversity and quality.

This study, which was conducted as part of the Italian Taste project, was aimed at exploring the relationship between actual liking and sensory perception in four food models. Each food model was spiked with four levels of prototypical tastant (i.e., citric acid, sucrose, sodium chloride, capsaicin) to elicit a target sensation (TS) at an increasing perceived intensity. Participants (N = 2258; 59% women, aged 18–60) provided demographic information, a stated liking for 40 different foods/beverages, and their responsiveness to tastants in water. A food-specific Pearson’s coefficient was calculated individually to estimate the relationship between actual liking and TS responsiveness. Considering the relationship magnitude, consumers were grouped into four food-specific clusters, depending on whether they showed a strong negative (SNC), a weak negative (WNC), a weak positive (WPC), or a strong positive correlation (SPC). Overall, the degree of liking raised in parallel with sweetness responsiveness, fell as sourness and pungency perception increased, and showed an inverted U-shape relationship with saltiness. The SNC clusters generally perceived TSs at higher intensities, except for sourness. Clusters were validated by associating the level of stated liking towards food/beverages; however, some unexpected indications emerged: adding sugar to coffee or preferring spicy foods differentiated those presenting positive correlations from those showing negative correlations. Our findings constitute a step towards a more comprehensive understanding of food preferences.

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Loss of smell decreases the quality of life and contributes to the failure in recognizing hazardous substances. Given the relevance of olfaction in daily life, it is important to recognize an undiagnosed olfactory dysfunction to prevent these possible complications. Up to now, the prevalence of smell disorders in Italy is unknown due to a lack of epidemiological studies. Hence, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in a sample of Italian adults. Six hundred and thirty-three participants (347 woman and 286 men; mean age 44.9 years, SD 17.3, age range 18–86) were recruited from 10 distinct Italian regions. Participants were recruited using a convenience sapling and were divided into six different age groups: 18–29 years (N = 157), 30–39 years (N = 129), 40–49 years (N = 99), 50–59 years (N = 106), > 60 years (N = 142). Olfactory function, cognitive abilities, cognitive reserve, and depression were assessed, respectively, with: Sniffin’ Sticks 16-item Odor Identification Test, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Cognitive Reserve Index, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Additionally, socio-demographic data, medical history, and health-related lifestyle information were collected. About 27% of participants showed an odor identification score < 12 indicating hyposmia. Multiple regression analysis revealed that OI was significantly correlated with age, sex, and cognitive reserve index, and young women with high cognitive reserve index showing the highest olfactory scores. This study provides data on the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in different Italian regions.

Juglans regia (L.) is cultivated worldwide for its nutrient-rich nuts. In Italy, despite the growing demand, walnut cultivation has gone through a strong decline in recent decades, which led to Italy being among the top five net importing countries. To promote the development of local high-quality Italian walnut production, we devised a multidisciplinary project to highlight the distinctive traits of three varieties grown in the mountainous region Trentino (northeast of Italy): the heirloom 'Bleggiana', a second local accession called local Franquette and the French cultivar 'Lara', recently introduced in the local production to increase yield. The genetic characterization confirmed the uniqueness of 'Bleggiana' and revealed local Franquette as a newly described autochthonous variety, thus named 'Blegette'. The metabolic profiles highlighted a valuable nutritional composition of the local varieties, richer in polyphenols and with a lower ω-6/ω-3 ratio than the commercial 'Lara'. 'Blegette' obtained the highest preference scores from consumers for both the visual aspect and tasting; however, the volatile organic compound profiles did not discriminate among the characterized cultivars. The described local varieties represent an interesting reservoir of walnut genetic diversity and quality properties, which deserve future investigation on agronomically useful traits (e.g., local adaptation and water usage) for a high-quality and sustainable production.

The consumption of phenol-rich foods is limited by their prominent bitterness and astringency. This issue has been addressed by adding sweet tastes, which suppress bitterness, but this is not a complete solution since individuals also differ in their preference for sweetness. In this study, we aimed at identifying groups of consumers differing in sweetness optima and sensory-liking patterns. To this end, increasing concentrations of sucrose were added to a chocolate pudding base. This allowed us to (1) investigate if individual differences in sensory responses are associated with different sweet liking optima in a product context, (2) define the psychological and oro-sensory profile of sweet liker phenotypes derived using a product context, and (3) assess if individuals differing in sweet liking optima differ also in consumption and liking of phenol-rich foods and beverages as a function of their sensory properties (e.g., sweeter vs. more bitter and astringent products). Individuals (1208; 58.4% women, 18–69 years) were characterised for demographics, responsiveness to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), personality traits and attitudes toward foods. Three clusters were identified based on correlations between sensory responses (sweetness, bitterness and astringency) and liking of the samples: liking was positively related to sweetness and negatively to bitterness and astringency in High and Moderate Sweet Likers, and the opposite in Inverted U-Shaped. Differences between clusters were found in age, gender and personality. Furthermore, the Inverted-U Shaped cluster was found to have overall healthier food behaviours and preferences, with higher liking and consumption of phenol-rich vegetables and beverages without added sugar. These findings point out the importance of identifying the individual sensory-liking patterns in order to develop more effective strategies to promote the acceptability of healthy phenol-rich foods.

This article presents a discussion of principal components analysis of descriptive sensory data. Focus is on standardization, many correlated variables, validation, and the use of descriptive data in preference mapping. Different ways of performing the analysis are presented and discussed with focus on how to obtain informative and reliable results. The results will be commented on in light of experience. All methods will be illustrated by calculations based on real data. The article ends with a list of suggestions for all the topics covered. Practical Application The article is about using principal components analysis (PCA) in sensory science. The applicability of the methods and ideas presented in this article are relevant for all types of descriptive sensory data. The ideas are general and comprise areas such as standardization, validation, and many correlated variables. The target group of readers for the article is the sensory scientist who uses PCA on a daily basis and who may have questions regarding how to use the method the best possible way.