Mealtime Partners, Inc.

Almost everyone likes snack foods despite most of us knowing that they aren’t very good for us. Most snack foods are high in fat, sugar or salt, or a combination of all three. What most of us don’t know is the amount of engineering that goes into the development of these treats. Food scientists from the “big food” industry (companies like Nestles, Kraft, Nabisco, General Mills, Coca Cola, etc.) work constantly to develop foods that will be irresistible to the consumer. The goal is to develop foods that when eaten are, as Goldilocks said in the Three Bears, “Just Right”. They have the perfect combination of ingredients that when they are put in the mouth, they are not too sweet or salty, and have enough fat in them to not be bland. When eaten, they have the optimum flavor for the majority of individuals. This is known in the food industry as the “bliss point”. It is the optimum balance! And, if more sugar, salt or fat were to be added, the enjoyment of eating it would decrease. For example, people reach a point of satiation or fullness quite rapidly when eating chocolate. This is described as “sensory-specific satiety”. Their taste buds, brain and stomach are aware of the chocolate that has been eaten because it is dense in both fat and sugar, and the ingredients are of high impact and you sense you have had enough. However, Cheetos Cheese Puffs ingredients are combined in such a way that they do not over stimulate the taste buds but provide ongoing pleasure with each bite; they dissolve quickly enough that the brain and stomach do not acknowledge that they have been eaten.

Once the bliss point is achieved, the engineering challenge is to make the food dissolve quickly enough in the mouth to trick the brain into thinking that no calories have been consumed. Thus people will go on eating bite after bite just like the potato chip advertisement that challenged the consumer “I bet you can’t eat just one.” This phenomenon is described as “vanishing caloric density”. Food stimulates the taste buds because it has lots of flavor but it does not satiate the appetite. Thus it is easy to over eat.

More information on this topic can be found in a New York Times article written by Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Michael Moss: The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food. The Times article is adapted from Michael Moss’s book: “Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us,” which is currently on the New York Times Best Seller List.  

However, the phenomena of the bliss point and vanishing caloric density can be of advantage when helping someone to become an independent eater. It should be noted that eating this type of food on a regular basis is not recommended, but it can be a very useful teaching tool as it is a highly motivating food and encourages participation when teaching self-feeding. Offering food that is high in flavor promotes a desire to eat the food. In many cases it is perceived as a treat. Thus the student is motivated to take a bite. Once the food is in the mouth, it does not require a substantial amount of chewing, but dissolves relatively quickly in the mouth and can be swallowed easily. Because the brain does not recognize that calories are being consumed, the student will eat more during the training session, motivated by the flavor that is engineered to promote extended eating. The most popular snack food in Mealtime Partners experience is Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Not only do they provide flavor that is desirable, but the hotness of the snacks allows them to be “felt” in the mouth by the taste buds as well as literally being felt by the tissue in the mouth. For some people who have poor oral sensation, this effect is extremely helpful in allowing them to know where food is in their mouth.

Snack foods that have high taste impact are a good motivator but should only be used in the early stages of teaching independent eating. Healthful food should be introduced as quickly as possible and the “junk” food discontinued once it has served its purpose.

It should be noted that the Mealtime Partner Dining System can serve snack foods like Cheetos and potato chips once they are broken into bite size pieces. And, it can also serve a wide variety of standard table foods, as well as pureed or minced food. Its versatility allows a wide range of user’s needs to be met and empowers them to be independent. For more information, or to play a video of the Mealtime Partner serving food, click here.

NOTE: Remember when offering someone “junk” food that it contains a wide variety of chemicals, and it is wise to check on food allergies prior to offering anything to eat.