The scientists found that certain sounds not only affected people's sense of saltiness or sweetness, they also influenced how crunchy some types of food sounded to the diners – which in turn affected their perceptions of freshness and palatability. “We’ve compared how people rated food that they ate while they sat in headphones listening to various kinds of sounds and we've speculated as to why this might explain why airline food has a reputation for not being very tasty,” Dr Poliakoff said.