Background: The population of Poland is one of the fastest ageing communities in Europe. Due to people’s ageing it is necessary to adapt the daily diet to these consumers’ requirements. The potential producers of food for senior citizens must allow for elderly people’s possibilities to consume meals (the structural aspect) and their nutritional needs. The aim of the study was to perform an instrumental analysis of the mechanical properties and sensory evaluation of selected foodstuffs for senior citizens.
Methods: The foodstuffs were purchased in Japan. There were three meat and vegetable stew products and two creamy soup products. The texture of the samples was analysed at temperatures of about 22°C and 55°C by means of a shear test or with a penetrometer. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis was applied to characterise the rheological traits of the samples heated to temperatures of 22–55°C. The finished products were evaluated by a ten-member panel trained in accordance with the requirements of PN-EN ISO 8586: 2014-03.
Results: The values of the texture parameters of all the samples were low and they were even more significantly reduced when the products were heated. The dynamic viscosity of the systems showed their relatively high density. Among the meat and vegetable dishes, dish no. 2, i.e. beef with vegetables, had the highest score in consumer preferences, i.e. 91.1%. Among the cream soups, sample no. 5, i.e. chicken & vegetable, had the highest score, i.e. 83.8%. The evaluation panel noted that the products were not sufficiently flavoured.
Conclusions: The results of the instrumental and sensory tests showed that the products for senior citizens had desirable structural characteristics, which are important for their consumption. As the issue of food for senior citizens is important for consumers all over Europe, it is necessary to consider the taste preferences of consumers inhabiting a particular geographical region (traditional flavours) before such foodstuffs are offered on the market.
Keywords: food for seniors; rheology; sensory evaluation; texture.