Taste education

Taste and smell cells appear between the 8^th and 12^th week of pregnancy and are functional from the 6th month in utero. By ingesting the amniotic fluid, the fetus can become familiar with certain aromas in the mother’s food repertoire.

The attraction of the newborn to aromas perceived before birth has been confirmed by various studies. At birth, certain tastes are more appreciated, especially sweet and fatty tastes, which are found in breast milk. In contrast, the newborn rejects acidic and bitter flavours, sensory markers of potentially toxic foods. This liking and disliking of certain flavours is innate, yet it is important to know that these preferences are in fact highly adaptive. Unlike taste, odours are not innate. Olfactory pleasure and rejection is exclusively a matter of cultural learning.

After birth, the baby also continues to become accustomed to the flavours of its mother's diet through her milk. Breastfed babies show a wider acceptance of foods than bottle-fed babies who have not experienced as much flavour variety.

With the introduction of complementary feeding, which begins between the 5^th and 7^th month, a wide variety of tastes, textures and consistencies are presented to the child.

Sweet, high-calorie foods are liked more spontaneously, whereas bitter, low-calorie foods will require some learning to be appreciated. However, the introduction of complementary feeding is stimulating for the infant in terms of sensory discoveries and food learning.

• The more aromatic and textural diversity the child has accumulated from the beginning, the more open he or she will be to discovering new foods later on.
• Home-cooked meals have a beneficial effect on the aromatic diversity that baby discovers and are important for taste development.

When children are introduced only to natural foods with natural flavours (no added sugar, no added flavourings) they will learn to appreciate foods and dishes that are beneficial to their health.

Baby undergoes a process to learn about taste, which will continue throughout her lifetime.

It is important to understand that up to about 18 months of age, a child is quite willing to try any food offered. Preferences acquired during breastfeeding and infancy can be maintained into adulthood.

The first 1000 days of a child’s life is a period of intense development and learning during which the child is extremely sensitive to environmental stimuli and particularly curious to discover different tastes, textures and smells.

Taste develops as a function of the sensory experiences that the child will have throughout his or her life. From the earliest age, parents play a central role in the development of the child’s taste and eating habits. Parents encourage the child to explore food in different ways using the 5 senses through autonomy, selfdiscovery, well-being and social bonding. Parents help the child to discover different tastes while respecting the child’s rhythm, as each child has an individual experience. Moreover, learning about taste as a source of pleasure can only strengthen the parents’ bond with their child. The role of parents is therefore to: ​

• pass on the pleasure of eating;
• awaken a taste for a wide variety of healthy foods and dishes;
• help the child develop a taste for natural foods and dishes with natural flavours.

The emotional and social accompaniment to meals is as important as what’s on the plate. The attitude of the person accompanying the child during the meal is decisive; a warm, reassuring and gratifying attitude creates an emotional climate that the child subconsciously associates with the taste of the food. A positive memory of the meal increases the pleasure of future meals.

Feeding is not only about meeting nutritional needs, but also about food and sensory learning, which is essential for later nutritional well-being.

The affective and social context of the meal, such as family meals, is very important since moods and feelings can be associated with the taste of food.