Sensory quality includes appearance, taste, odor, consistency, state of ripeness and freshness. These attributes define the enjoyment value of a food product. What meets individual requirements in this context is extremely subjective. Each person has his or her own idea of how a food should look, smell and taste. In this context, the individual taste system is not innate, but is determined by the prevailing food culture. A newborn child adapts to the norms of family taste and trains its sense of taste accordingly.
Was the taste of food better in the past than it is today?
Modern production processes used in the food industry usually result in a loss or else a change in the natural taste of the original food. Flavoring makes up for this effect.
The shelves of the supermarkets are full of flavored foods and our taste buds are now more familiar with artificial flavors than with the natural taste of an apple or pear. Many children and young people prefer the one-size-fits-all flavors of fast food and convenience foods to natural foods that they perceive as tasting rather bland. Accordingly, a problem we face today is more of a change in taste perceptions toward a “one-size-fits-all” taste.
Conclusion
Nowadays, we have an abundant supply of food products that we can access at any time. The variety of products has increased enormously over the last 50 years: from 1400 in 1950 to about 9000 products today. These are safe and high-quality foods. They are hygienically perfect and mostly free of contaminants and pollutants. This is ensured by comprehensive legal regulations at national and international level as well as high standards in the processing plants.
Of course, there are also black sheep in this sector who bring bad goods onto the market and create a negative image. Overall, however, it has never been so easy to implement a healthy, varied and high-quality diet. It depends on the right choice and combination of food:
- Prefer fresh food and pay attention to the seasonal offer.
- Always wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consumption. Residues of pesticides can be reduced thereby.
- Pay attention to good quality animal foods. Many producers undertake to offer high quality and safe food within the framework of quality seals and quality marks.
- If you resort to convenience foods, make sure that they are processed as little as possible (eg, frozen vegetables).
