Produtos estruturados como estratégia para redução da rejeição infantil de mamão e abóbora: análise sensorial, físico-química e de compostos bioativos

Abstract

Evaluating sensory aspects and researching the emotions evoked by food can help better predict children’s food choices. A healthy diet in childhood, rich in fruits and vegetables (FV), is crucial for development and disease prevention. Food acceptance is influenced by factors such as family, culture, and psychosocial aspects. Sensory modification of food, such as texture changes, can improve acceptance and reduce rejection of FV in children. Assessing food-related emotions supports the use of strategies to encourage healthier eating habits. This study aimed to develop structured papaya and pumpkin products and analyze their sensory characteristics, evoked emotions, physicochemical properties, and bioactive compounds. The research was divided into five stages: I – Development of a list of emotional terms and emojis through focus groups with children aged 7–10; II – Diagnosis of FV consumption, rejection, and food neophobia; III – Development of two structured product formulations using gellan gum (papaya and pumpkin, with soft and chip textures); IV – Sensory and emotional analysis; and V – Physicochemical characterization and bioactive compound evaluation. Focus groups revealed that taste strongly influences children's food-related emotions, as indicated by the frequency of terms and emojis used. Positive emotions were associated with familiar or favorite foods (e.g., strawberry yogurt, stuffed cookies, chive omelets), while negative emotions were linked to less-appreciated items (e.g., oatmeal porridge). This enabled the creation of a tailored list of emotional terms and emojis for evaluating children’s food-related emotions. The consumption diagnosis showed low FV intake and high rejection of papaya and pumpkin. Papaya chips were more accepted than the soft version, while texture had little impact on pumpkin acceptability. Mixed emotions were reported, particularly for papaya chips and pumpkin products, with frequent use of both positive and negative terms and emojis. The structured products showed distinct physicochemical profiles: papaya-based products had lower pH, chips lost original shine and color, and higher vitamin C and phenolic compound levels were found in papaya formulations. Pumpkin products had higher carotenoid content, and papaya chips showed greater antioxidant capacity. These findings suggest that sensory modifications in structured products can help reduce FV rejection in children, especially those with food neophobia, and promote gradual consumption of FV in fresh or minimally processed forms