ABSTRACT
The chemical senses have been inextricably linked to food selection, nutritional status, and health throughout human evolution. Procurement of adequate energy and nutrients was central to survival, and human chemosensory systems played a key role in locating, ingesting, and metabolizing foods and the nutrients they supply. Olfaction, the distance sense, is often viewed as instrumental in locating foods in the environment. Taste, on the other hand, is commonly regarded as the final gatekeeper for ingestive decisions, with the different qualities conveying information about the nutrient content and/or safety of foods. Sweetness is generally associated with carbohydrates, saltiness with electrolytes, umami with protein, sourness with acids, and bitterness with toxic or harmful agents. Although current views hold that fat is largely identified by its textural properties, accumulating evidence suggests there may be a taste component and this could aid in identification of this energy-dense food constituent (Gilbertson, 1998; Mattes, 1996).
