Apple Juice as a Potential Sweetening Ingredient in Fruit Nectars: Hedonic and Sensory Perception of Children and Adults

Reducing sugar consumption is a global need, especially given its relationship with the increase of chronic non-communicable diseases. The Brazilian industry has used apple juice as a substitute for added sugar in fruit beverages. This study aimed to elucidate whether and to what extent apple juice can be reduced without affecting sweetness perception and juice acceptance, thus providing new insights for developing products with a sugar substitute ingredient. Two studies were conducted, both with adults and children. First, five sequential difference thresholds for reducing apple juice into mixed grape nectar estimated the concentrations that could be reduced without affecting the perception of sweetness by 50 adults and 50 children. The second study evaluated the consumers' liking and sensory characteristics using the Check-All-That-Apply test of the five estimated thresholds, by 120 adults and 110 children. The results indicated that it was possible to reduce the apple juice of mixed grape nectar without affecting the perception of sweetness while keeping an adequate acceptance.