Due to the widespread rejection by children of products with high-fiber content, new approaches to meet the dietary recommendations on fiber intake are necessary. To understand which sensory properties influence this rejection, children's acceptability was examined in high-fiber biscuits and drivers of liking were identified. One hundred and ten Spanish children (6-12 years old) evaluated the overall liking of eight commercial biscuits with variable fiber content and stated their preference. To study the drivers of liking, the samples were characterized through a quantitative descriptive analysis, the determination of the moisture and water activity as well as the instrumental evaluation of texture with a texture analyzer. It was suggested that the addition of fiber in biscuits reduced children's liking ratings. High-fiber samples were sensory and instrumentally described as harder, crispier, and more chewing than the samples with medium and low fiber content. The main sensory driver of liking identified in this study was the soft texture. Despite their hard texture, high- and medium-fiber samples were chosen as the preferred ones for 14% of the children that participated when they included chocolate taste. Drivers of disliking identified in this study were related to the addition of fruit as a filling or as dehydrated pieces. This knowledge about children's acceptability of high-fiber products might be of interest for the food industry with the aim of developing well-accepted products that supply nutritional deficiencies associated with the fiber intake.
Keywords: acceptability; children; drivers of liking; fiber; texture analysis.
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