Children’s taste buds are becoming so used to “engineered” foods, such as chicken nuggets, fish fingers and ketchup, that they prefer them to “real” foods, such as chicken breast, fish and tomatoes, a new study has concluded.
Conducted by the University of Nottingham and children’s food manufacturer Organix, the study raises concerns about how the food industry could be “changing children’s palates, [and] their to ability to enjoy the taste of ‘real’ food”, and how this could be “impacting on their health… especially in the context of the obesity crisis.”
The research highlights the responsibility that foodservice has to provide good quality children’s meals to ensure “real” food options in the out of home sector.