The global increase of cardiovascular diseases is linked to the shift towards unbalanced diets with increasing salt and fat intake. This has led to a growing consumers’ interest in more balanced food products, which explains the growing number of health-related claims on food products (e.g., “low in salt” or “light”). Based on a within-subjects design, consumers (n = 129) evaluated the same cheese product with different labels. Participants rated liking, saltiness and fat flavor intensity before and after consuming four labeled cheeses. Even though the cheese products were identical, inclusion of health labels influenced consumer perceptions. Cheese with a “light” label had a lower overall expected and perceived liking compared to regular cheese. Although cheese with a “salt reduced” label had a lower expected liking compared to regular cheese, no lower liking was found when consumers actually consumed the labeled cheese. All labels also influenced the perceived intensities of the attributes related to these labels, e.g., for example salt intensity for reduced salt label. While emotional profiles of the labeled cheeses differed before tasting, little differences were found when actual tasting these cheeses. In conclusion, this study shows that health-related labels might influence the perceived flavor and emotional profiles of cheese products.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of sensory attributes of milk chocolate on consumers’ emotions and their hedonic ratings using three commercial brands of milk chocolate. Design/methodology/approach: Quantitative descriptive analysis by a trained panel (n=8) was performed to obtain the sensory evaluation of the samples. A group of 127 consumers evaluated the samples to indicate their hedonic ratings (nine-point hedonic scale) and emotions (EsSense Profile®). Findings: The sensory profiles for the three chocolate types showed clear differences. EsSense Profile® methodology revealed that each type of chocolate had a distinct emotional profile. The premium brand was associated with the highest number of positive emotions, whereas the traditional brand was associated with most of the negative emotions (“bored”, “disgusted” and “worried”). The drivers of liking were mainly positive and unclassified emotions. Also, gender differences in emotional profiling were found. Practical implications: This study illustrates that sensory and emotional measurements can contribute to a better understanding of consumers’ hedonic liking. Moreover, gender differences found in emotional profiling should raise awareness that gender may lead to different emotional profiling. These gender differences are of interest to food companies, for instance, for food product development or marketing purposes. Originality/value: This study further contributes to the growing literature on emotions. By combining sensory evaluation by a trained panel and emotional profiling by consumers, this paper explores how combining these measurements can contribute to a better understanding of the drivers of liking for milk chocolate.

Reducing sugar consumption is an important aspect in the prevention of and fight against obesity. A broader understanding of consumers' perceptions of low-calorie sweeteners is needed. This study examined two low-calorie sweeteners, tagatose and stevia, in comparison to sugar in dark chocolate. A total of 219 consumers participated in this study and rated overall liking and sensory attributes. Participants also listed their emotional conceptualisations upon consumption and were assessed on emotional eating behaviour and health and taste attitudes. The chocolate with tagatose was perceived as more similar to the chocolate with sugar than with stevia on overall liking, texture, bitterness, duration of aftertaste and intensity of aftertaste. Furthermore, chocolate with sugar and chocolate with tagatose both elicited positive emotional conceptualisations whereas chocolate with stevia elicited negative emotional conceptualisations. In conclusion, dark chocolate with tagatose did not significantly differ from sugar in overall liking, most sensory attributes and emotional conceptualisation.