Sensory & consumer studies with special populations: children and elderly

• Children & elderly share specificities leading to similar recommendations.
• Transforming sensory tests into a game is the best way to motivate children.
• Exploring cognitive aspects of food perception is possible with children above 4 years.
• Sensory description with elderly is not only possible but could be necessary.
• Observation is the only option below 3 years of age & with cognitively impaired elderly.

The need to adapt the usual sensory methods to face the particularities of children and elderly has been emphasized since many years. A diversity of methods that could be used with children according to their developmental stage, and to a lesser extent with elderly depending on their cognitive status, have been described. This review aims at underlining limits but also possibilities for measuring, in children and elderly, sensory reactions, food acceptance and also for exploring cognitive aspects of food perception. The main points to conduct successfully sensory and consumer studies with these populations are highlighted.