Sarah DOMINGIE

Composition of the jury:

• Mrs. Isabelle MAITRE, Reviewer
• Mr. Sergio POLAKOFF, Reviewer
• Mrs. Gaëlle ARVISENET, Examiner
• Mr. Michael Bom FRØST, Examiner
• Mrs. Mari SANDELL, Examiner

Keywords: Co-design; Nutrition; Sensory engineering; Consumer behaviour

Abstract: How can we design food that supports healthy ageing while also integrating sensory evolutions of a rapidly growing population of community-dwelling older adults? Ageing leads to physiological changes (reduced sensory perception, oral abilities, and appetite), which limit nutritional intake and eating pleasure. This thesis explores multi-actor, multi-criteria food design methodologies tailored to the needs and preferences of older adults, from 55 years, for a preventive approach.

Participatory methods, (co-ideation and co-creation), were implemented with older adults (55–75 years old) and experts (chefs, healthcare professionals, and re-searchers), enabling the co-development of recipe spec-ifications incorporating nutritional, sensory, sustainability, and cultural criteria. Two formats containing pulses were studied: soups and appetiser bites. Resulting prototypes were optimised using an experimental design, modelling the impact of nutritional enrichment on sensory and nutritional criteria. The co-created foods were evaluated in real-life conditions by over 200 older adults.

This thesis enabled the inclusion of consumers from the earliest stages of innovative food product design, while also taking into account the constraints of other pertinent stakeholders. Different strategies were pro-posed to foster creativity, such as a sensory toolkit and various formats of multi-actor workshops: in culinary contexts, or exploring online and in-person for-mats. Indicators were defined to assess the relevance of the designed products. This approach led to the creation of innovative recipes enriched with protein, fibre, and omega-3s, with reduced salt content, which were highly appreciated during a communal meal served in an experimental restaurant setting. Overall, this research proposes a co-design frame-work for developing and evaluating food products tailored to older adults, while also offering methodological tools transferable to other contexts and populations.

  For those who would like to participate online, here is the Zoom link: https://institutlyfe.zoom.us/j/6924322100?omn=81285215990