Children and Taste: Guiding Foodservice

Abstract

Taste has been neglected in science, and school foodservice suffers from huge amounts of food waste when children do not eat what is served. This article highlights the importance of taste in terms of children's food preferences, and the awareness of this fact has been recognized while working with children as co-researchers. The children formulated research questions themselves, chose research methods, gathered information, and analyzed and presented results. In this way, taste developed as the most important aspect of food for them. It is suggested to not just let them be a panel, but also to let children participate from the very beginning in planning school foodservice.