Food Choices and Preferences of Consumers (Consumer Science)

The course is organized to explain: the influence of sensory factors (aging, memory and attitude neophobia, etc..) on choices and consumer behavior; the physiological and psychological principles of sensory methods in order to ensuring the food safety and the food quality. In order to provide the most worthwhile and nutritionally balanced food, the course will provide tools for a punctual evaluation of sensory characteristics, especially for products destined to special diets (obese and overweight individuals, elderly, celiacs, diabetics, etc.), catering and canteens for company, schools, hospital and nursing home for the elderly (RSA). The main aim is to provide students with the most suitable tools to define guidelines in order to evaluate new product formulation and its preference-acceptability, to optimize and to maintain the sensory characteristics of the product and to define the consumers' expectations.

At the end of the course the student will acquire the skills related to the sensory methods used for descriptive and affective assessments in relation to various food products. In particular, the ability to evaluate consumer behavior through the application of qualitative methods (eg focus groups) and quantitative methods for preference-acceptability will be developed. Furthermore, the necessary knowledge for the statistical processing of data will be acquired, in the optic of collaborating with the company marketing division in the realization of more extensive and complete market surveys. Moreover, the skills to collaborate with the control-quality division and research and development in food companies will be acqured, as well as with catering companies and canteens in hospitals, schools and nursing homes for the elderly (RSA).