A sense of sustainability? – How sensory consumer science can contribute to sustainable development of the food sector

Publication date: Available online 14 February 2019Source: Trends in Food Science & TechnologyAuthor(s): Jessica Aschemann-Witzel, Gastón Ares, John Thøgersen, Erminio MonteleoneAbstractBackgroundHumanity’s current use of resources is not in line with the goal of sustainable development. Climate change impact scenarios appear worryingly pessimistic. The agricultural and food production accounts for a particularly high share of the impact, and this also holds for consumption of food. Transforming food consumption plays a crucial role in tackling the challenges, and sensory consumer science can contribute to this.Scope and approachThis commentary examines what is required of the agricultural and food sector in order to sustainably transform and outlines the current research streams in sensory consumer science from a sustainability perspective. Based on a comparison of the two, we suggest a categorization of the contributions that sensory consumer science can make to sustainable development.Key findings and conclusions: Six necessary transformations to which sensory consumer science can make a contribution are derived and outlined: 1) promotion of a dietary shift towards more sustainable foods and diets, 2) increase of food diversity, 3) food waste reduction, 4) enhancement of the circularity of the food system, 5) heightening and prioritising food-related well-being, and 6) coping with the effects of climate change. So far, sensory consumer science studies have focused on f...

Source: Trends in Food Science and Technology - February 14, 2019 Category: Food Science Source Type: research