Taste, Fat Sensation and Texture Study

August 15, 2025 updated by: Monica Mars, Wageningen University

Taste, Fat Sensation and Texture Study of Dutch and Malaysian Diets

Food is selected primarily on their taste and texture properties. It is essential to get more insight in taste and texture characteristics of the foods in the Dutch and Malaysian diets for a better understanding of food choices. Currently, there is insufficient information on taste and texture properties of foods to relate these properties to the composition of diets and individual food choice in larger (observational) studies.

In the current study, the investigators want to assess the perceived intensities of the 5 basic tastes, i.e. sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami, as well as fat sensation and texture, in an array of about 1,000 often consumed Dutch and Malaysian foods. The investigators aim to do this with a trained sensory panel, which is a well-accepted way of assessing perception of sensory attributes.

With the current study, the investigators aim to build a table, which is comparable to the food composition table, but contains data that describes foods and meals in terms of sensory properties. That is, investigators want to quantify sensory characteristics of about 1,000 commonly eaten Dutch and Malaysian foods. This enables investigators to add sensory information to the food intake data that is already being collected in observational studies, and to further understand food choices in specific populations, such as elderly and patient groups. In current project, the investigators also aim to compare the Dutch diet to the Malaysian diet in term of sensory properties.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The study is an observational study on taste and texture of commonly consumed Dutch and Malaysian foods with three phases, i.e. screening, training and tasting sessions.

The study will be held in the sensory tasting rooms at Wageningen University, The Netherlands and Taylor's University, Malaysia, respectively.

After the recruitment and prior to the training and tasting sessions, there will be a 2-hour screening session (Phase I) during which the investigators will select respective Dutch and Malaysian participants based on their performance in a sensory test.

During the training session (Phase II), the participants need to commit and involve in 2 1½-hour sessions a week for approximately four- six months (until sufficiently trained).

At the tasting sessions (Phase III), trained Dutch and Malaysian panellist also need to involve in 2-3 sessions a week for a consecutive three years. Each session will take approximately 1½ hour. During this session, series of food will be rated for their taste, fat and texture. In addition, food texture will be measured by eating rate and quantifying the size of the bites which it is eaten.

The usual performance of the panellist also are discussed with the panellists and monitored throughout the training phase and regularly (each month) during the tasting phase.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
35

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years to 51 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Only Dutchs are allowed to participate as Dutch taste panel; and only Malaysians are allowed to participate as Malaysian taste panel

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age: 18-55 years
  • BMI: 18.5-25kg/m2 (self-reported)
  • Physically and mentally healthy as not suffering or under control by any medications
  • Available during the whole period and shown to be committed to participate 3 times/wk
  • Good performance on the sensory tests during the screening

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Smoking (equal or more than 1 unit per day and those stopped smoking less than3 months)
  • Excessive alcoholic consumer (more than 21 units per week)
  • Being vegetarian or having religious dietary restrictions
  • Reported to have certain dental limitations (denture, tongue piercing or difficulties in chewing and swallowing)
  • Reported intolerance or allergies to foods
  • Using medications that are known to affect taste and smell identification
  • Being pregnant or lactating
  • Participating and/or planning to participate in other studies for the coming three years

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Observational Models: Other
  • Time Perspectives: Cross-Sectional

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Dutch trained taste panel
The study population consists of a sample of 15 healthy Dutch males and females, recruited in the Wageningen area.
Diagnostic test: Basic taste, fat sensation and texture perception
This is an observational Sensory study methodologically similar to "Astringency and bitterness perception clinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03171402 "Participants are first involved in sensory training sessions that train how they recognise between different basic tastes and differentiate perceived intensity in solutions and foods. After 6 months of training, the trained participants are involved in tasting a wide array of commonly consumed foods. At this study phase, participants will rate for the foods' taste, fat sensation perception and texture
Malaysian trained taste panel
The study population consists of a sample of 20 healthy Malaysian males and females, recruited in the Subang Jaya, Selangor area.
Diagnostic test: Basic taste, fat sensation and texture perception
This is an observational Sensory study methodologically similar to "Astringency and bitterness perception clinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03171402 "Participants are first involved in sensory training sessions that train how they recognise between different basic tastes and differentiate perceived intensity in solutions and foods. After 6 months of training, the trained participants are involved in tasting a wide array of commonly consumed foods. At this study phase, participants will rate for the foods' taste, fat sensation perception and texture

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Comparison of panel performance results of two trained Dutch and Malaysian panelist
Time Frame: Phase II training , an average of 3 hours visit per week

For individual taste attributes of the reference solutions and reference foods, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the performance of each panel on discrimination, repeatability and agreement according to the following model:

Attribute= µ + product (P) + assessor (A) + replicate (r) + product*assessor (P*A) + product*replicate (P*r) + assessor*replicate (A*r) + E, where product= discrimination, assessor= consistency of ratings between assessors, replicate= consistency of ratings from one session to another, product*replicate= panel repeatability, product*assessor = agreement between assessors, assessor*replicate= assessor repeatability. The replicate scores deviated from the product mean for all taste attributes from the total scale were also reported as root mean squared error (RMSE) of the ANOVA model without replicate effect
Phase II training , an average of 3 hours visit per week
Dutch trained panelist-generated taste intensity ratings of commonly consumed Dutch foods
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 3hours visit per week
The intensity rating of taste: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, umami and fat sensation on the 100-point quantitative Spectrum scales
Through study completion, an average of 3hours visit per week
Malaysian trained panelist-generated taste intensity ratings of commonly consumed Malaysian foods
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 3hours visit per week
The intensity rating of taste: sweet, salt, sour, bitter, umami and fat sensation on the 100-point quantitative Spectrum scales
Through study completion, an average of 3hours visit per week

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
The behavior measures of food texture related properties of commonly consumed foods
Time Frame: Through study completion, an average of 3hours visit per week
The eating rate was measured and the bite size was quantified
Through study completion, an average of 3hours visit per week

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Wageningen University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Taylor's University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Monica Mars, PhD, Wageningen University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 13, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 22, 2016

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 22, 2016

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 20, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 25, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 28, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 20, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 15, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NL47315.081.13

Drug and device information, study documents

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Taste Perception

Clinical Trials on Basic taste, fat sensation and texture perception

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings