Taste It! 7-day Exposure to a Protein-enriched Milk Drink Increases its Smell, Taste, and Flavor Familiarity and Facilitates Acquisition of Taste Familiarity of a Novel Protein Drink

Epidemiological studies suggest that the average dietary protein intake is insufficient to maintain muscle mass as we age. Despite their availability, protein-enriched foods are not widely accepted, likely owing to their unexpected “taste”. Those expectations change with experience and exposure can improve product acceptance. However, the sensory drivers of this phenomenon are unknown. In this randomised, controlled, multi-center trial with pre and post intervention measurements, 100 healthy adult participants consumed either a novel protein-enriched milk drink (PD; participant group 1) or a conventional milk drink (CD; group 2) for seven days. Participants evaluated familiarity, intensity, and pleasantness of the taste, smell, and flavor of different milk drinks including the intervention drinks in the laboratory before and after intervention as well as a novel protein-enhanced drink after intervention only. We found that exposure to PD increased familiarity of its smell, taste, and especially flavor. The perception of the qualities of the other non-exposed drinks was unchanged. PD exposure also led to increased taste familiarity of a novel protein drink suggesting that the “acquired taste” transfers to other protein drinks. While PD pleasantness was unaffected by exposure, increased familiarity was positively associated with pleasantness for all three sensory modalities smell, taste, and flavor. No changes in the perception of any drink were observed in the group who consumed the CD. The transfer of the acquired taste familiarity to a novel drink after 7-days of exposure to an unfamiliar protein-enriched drink indicates that exposure may increase acceptance of similar drinks.