Children and adults' sensory and hedonic perception of added sugar reduction in grape nectar

Reducing the added sugar content of sugar‐sweetened beverages is one of the most cost‐effective strategies to achieve short‐term changes in added sugar intake. The present study aimed at evaluating children and adults' sensory and hedonic perception of added sugar reduction in grape nectar. For this purpose, two studies were carried out. In the first study, five sequential difference thresholds for added sugar in grape nectar were determined with school‐aged children and adults using paired comparisons. In the second study 105 children (6–12 years old) and 100 adults evaluated six samples with different added sugar content. They were asked to rate their overall liking and to answer a check‐all‐that‐apply question. Results confirmed the feasibility of reducing the added sugar concentration of grape nectar without affecting the sensory and hedonic perception of both children and adults. Children were less able to detect changes in the sensory characteristics of the added sugar reduced nectar samples than adults but showed higher hedonic sensitivity to added sugar reduction. Large heterogeneity in hedonic reaction toward added sugar‐reduced nectar samples was found in both age groups. Practical applications Results from the present work are expected to provide insights for the development of gradual added sugar reduction programs in fruit nectar for both children and adults. According to the estimated difference thresholds, gradual added sugar reduction could be implemented considering sequential reductions lower than 6.21% to assure that consumers do not perceive changes in the sensory characteristics of the product. Considering that such small reductions would not affect consumer liking, the time elapsed between sequential added sugar reduction steps would not require long waiting times.