Food design as a tool for social development: experimental study in the evaluation of child smell

Abstract

The study is part of a food design research having the aim to assess the relevance of the olfactory experience on social development and the improvement of public health. Its immediate and primitive connection to the emotions zone establishes an experience of direct connection to motivations and desires, transporting memory to the construction of a moral consciousness about what we smell and eat, contributing to the physiological sanity although conditioned by culture. However, the organoleptic diversity in early life can condition the citizen's flexibility concerning the adoption of innovative practices and, consequently, of a greater aptitude related to public health, environmental sustainability, and, most importantly, cultural creativity. Recognizing the implication between the capacity to adopt new behaviors and the extent of children's organoleptic learning, this exploratory study (inquiry) covering a universe of 20 food smells was carried out in educational establishments, considering children aged 3-5, from polarised socio-economic groups. The data treatment of the study led us to conclude that the most depressed socio-economic group presents a more reduced organoleptic lexicon than the other group, implying, consequently, a lower aptitude for the creative adaptation to the different, a condition for innovation.