Sensory characteristics of chocolate milk: the role of added sugar and fat content

Agropur is the largest dairy producer in Canada. Chocolate milk is one of the most popular productsmanufactured by Agropur. The company is interested in investigating how fat and sugar content of chocolatemilk influence its taste characteristics. The obtained results will help the company to direct the productdevelopment and potentially introduce new products. Chocolate milk is popular and nutritious beverageconsumed by children and adults. Typically, chocolate milk contains about 6% of added sucrose. A recentstudy has shown that 50% of meals in Canadian chain restaurants exceeded the WHO's proposed daily sugarrecommendation, and 19% exceeded the WHO's current daily sugar recommendation, and chocolate milk wasamong those beverages with the highest sugar content. The higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages isassociated with increased risk of obesity in children. The research indicates that the consumption of chocolatemilk and unflavoured milk result in increased and reduced blood sugar compared to other caloric beverages,respectively. Despite its high energy and sugar content, chocolate milk is a rich source of nutrients. The highsugar content in chocolate milk has sparked the debates whether chocolate milk should be banned fromschools. However, the removal of chocolate milk from the schools led to a decrease in milk intake by students.This trend may have a harmful effect on dietary intake of children when plain or flavoured milk productsknown to be nutrient-dense foods high in calcium, vitamins D and A, protein, lipids and low glycaemic lactoseare replaced with other beverages with high energy density and poor nutrient profile. While low-fat dairyproducts are promoted by dietary guidelines and health professionals, there is no evidence that whole milkconsumption presents any metabolic risk. The fat content of milk is an important factor that predetermines thetaste and palatability. The current project will investigate the sensory characteristics of chocolate milkproducts varying in their fat and sugar content. It is expected that the findings of this study will provide newdirections for the development of tasty and healthy chocolate milk products for Canadian children and adults.