243: Do labels and packaging really affect what we taste?

<div>How much do <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/discover/article/only-16-of-britons-understand-healthier-food-and-drinks-labels-according-to-new-research/">labels and packaging</a> affect what we taste when we eat food?<br> <br> </div> <div>It's a question that Christopher T Simons, Associate Professor in Sensory Science at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a>, has given a lot of thought to.<br> <br> </div> <div>In <a href="https://fst.osu.edu/news/how-ruin-taste-cookie-just-2-words">his latest study</a>, he presented people with three plates of identical biscuits, one labelled "customer complaint", one labelled "factory typical", and another labelled "new and improved".<br> <br> </div> <div>"People perceived them totally differently" he tells Stefan Gates in this episode of the Table Talk podcast.<br> <br> </div> <div>But why is that? And how can the food industry use studies like this to make their products more attractive to consumers?<br> <br> </div> <div>Professor Simons says there are important lessons to be learned, and many ways the findings can be applied, not least in <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/discover/podcast/career-conversations-the-euphoric-moments-of-working-in-npd-food-podcasts/">new product development</a> and marketing.<br> <br> </div> <div>And if labels and packaging, descriptions and pre-conceived ideas are so important, could they be used to help people switch to a <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/discover/podcast/plant-based-sustainable-diets-kelloggs/">healthier, more sustainable diet</a>?<br> <br> </div> <div> <strong>Christopher T Simons, Associate Professor in Sensory Science, CFAES Department of Food Science &amp; Technology, The Ohio State University<br> </strong><br> </div> <div>Christopher Simons earned his undergraduate degree in Biology from the <a href="https://www.uoregon.edu/">University of Oregon</a>, his M.S. degree in Physiology from <a href="https://www.pdx.edu/">Portland State University</a>, and his Ph.D. in Sensory Scien