Sensory Comparison of a Soy Enhanced Chocolate Candy and Regular Candy by Children Age 9-16

Increasing soy in the American diet has been recommended as means to lower cholesterol. The objective of this study was the comparison of a soy enhanced reduced fat chocolate peanut butter candy and a usually formulated chocolate peanut butter candy. Soy Protein Isolate (SPI) was added to the normal formulation of peanut butter filling for a chocolate candy product. The SPI functioned as a fat substitute by simple displacement. This resulted in a product five grams lower in fat, five grams higher in protein, with seventy-five fewer calories and an increase in calcium to 213 mg. Sensory comparisons between the two products was conducted among youth participating in a take your child to work program at Du Pont Protein Technologies Incorporated, who were frequent snack eaters and chocolate consumers. Results of the sensory testing indicated with an ANOVA test that the overall likings were not found to be significantly different between the soy enhanced and control candy products. The sensory indices used in testing were: liking of appearance, liking of overall flavor, liking filling flavor, liking chocolate flavor, liking texture, amount of filling and amount of coating. This reformulated product was accepted by youth as an equal to the already marketed test product. Snacks and baked goods contribute a majority proportion of fat intake in children. Most of these snacks are procured from vending machines. Formulating these snack products to a healthier level raises the feasibility of reducing fat in the diet of youths.