For example, in young consumers, disappointing experiences with a food impacted on the expected liking of that food, depending both on how recent the disappointment was and on the general consumption frequency of the food. On the one hand, there is some evidence to suggest that taste memory mirrors to a large extent the process of actual taste perception.
On the other hand, several studies – which predominantly used implicit learning paradigms – have reported some distortions in memory for the taste of food. So far, only a few studies have systematically looked at possible effects of age on memory of foods.
The results suggest that intentional memory is affected by age, whereas incidental learning is not.
The ability to remember the amount consumed during previous meals seems to impact on the amount consumed during subsequent meals. Furthermore,
food cues are more effective in increasing intake when they are able to evoke memories of earlier food rewards .
What is more, many foods are accompanied by strong autobiographical memories that are either awakened either by sensory impressions themselves or merely by the reenactment of certain eating situations or the recognition of a dish .
Here, it is thought possible that it is very important that the actual perceived flavour does not deviate from the vague remembrance of it, since this may cause disturbance and disruption. Interestingly, loss of olfactory sensitivity with increasing age may even be beneficial to avoid such disturbances.