Targeting foods for the aging population

As we age, our senses of taste, smell and sight decrease in acuity. Decreased strength in the jaw and lower production of saliva cause us to have some difficulty in chewing and swallowing. Gum tissue becomes more tender and more easily broken when it encounters sharp fragments of food. Manual dexterity decreases, causing us to have difficulty when opening some packages. These problems may cause some seniors to find it more difficult to prepare and enjoy very nutritious meals, which they may need.

Scientists at the Guelph Food Technology Center (88 McGilvray St., Guelph, ON N1G 2W1 Canada) tell us to consider these obstacles when planning products for the older generation. For example, by pureeing and reforming a food into a different shape, you can try to decrease its hardness, which will lessen the amount of chewing needed to prepare it for effective digestion by the stomach.

Extrusion cooking creates products that are crunchy, but eliminates both hardness, which tires the jaw, and sharp pieces, which cut gum tissue. One idea you might try: encapsulating liquid in a gel bubble. This approach creates the perception of a juicy burst in restructured foods by mimicking cells in fruit and vegetable products. On another front, by compressing instantized particles together, you can create the perception of hardness. But because of an irregular, convoluted shape, a greater surface area is exposed to saliva, and the food easily disintegrates.

Then, rather than relying completely on one preservation method to protect consumers from pathogens and spoilage bacteria, use hurdle technology that combines various preservation techniques into one-some heating, MAP, pH and the like. In addition, temperature indicators can be used to clearly identify those packages that have reached too high a temperature during shipping, display or handling by the consumer. They provide a warning for possible spoilage of a temperature-sensitive product.

Keep in mind that seniors today are more educated than before, and many are financially secure. They will spend money, but often only on products that meet their expectations of quality.

Further information. Tanya Reymer; phone: [phone]; fax: [phone]; URL: http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/gftc.htm.