Children's acceptance of xylitol-based foods

Daily consumption of xylitol (5-10 g/day) added to chewing gum and confecti onary foods has been previously shown to prevent dental caries in children. Methods: Snack foods containing xylitol were developed and tested for acce ptability in a convenience sample of 31 children ages 3 to 6 years. In orde r to mimic an after-meal snack, all children were tested during mid-morning , approximately 1 h after eating. Preference testing was based on the metho dology of Birch et al. a Nutr Educ, 1979; 11: 77-80). In the first phase, e ach child was presented with a tray of six xylitol-based foods (popsicles, pudding, gum drops, gelatin dessert, cookies, popcorn) and asked to taste e ach item in any desired order. Immediately after tasting a food, the child was asked to place it in front of one of three cartoon faces (smile, frown or neutral) representing the child's response to the taste of that particul ar food. In the second phase, the child was asked to rank order the foods i n each face category (smile, frown or neutral). Ranks within categories wer e then combined to obtain a rank ordering for all of the foods. Results: No nparametric data analysis indicated significant differences in ranking betw een the foods when they were compared to each other (Friedman ANOVA by rank s, P<0.01). Pudding was significantly less preferred than the other foods ( sign tests, P<0.04). At least 84% of the children found five of the six foo ds very good or satisfactory, when considered individually. Conclusions: Th ese results suggest that snack foods developed with xylitol are generally w ell accepted by children.