PMID- 33663854 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20210426 LR - 20220531 IS - 1525-3198 (Electronic) IS - 0022-0302 (Linking) VI - 104 IP - 5 DP - 2021 May TI - Child preferences and perceptions of fluid milk in school meal programs. PG - 5303-5318 LID - S0022-0302(21)00223-X [pii] LID - 10.3168/jds.2020-19546 [doi] AB - School meal programs in the United States feed approximately 30 million children each day and account for the majority of child milk intake. Dairy consumption during childhood and adolescence has lasting effects on lifelong health status, so it is important for schools to ensure adequate consumption in this life stage by offering an appealing product. This study identified the intrinsic and extrinsic attributes that influence children's perceptions, attitudes, and consumption of fluid milk at school, especially as they relate to fluid milk packaging. An online choice-based conjoint survey (n = 211) and four 1-h focus groups (n = 31) were conducted with child milk consumers ages 8 to 13 yr to evaluate extrinsic attributes. The survey evaluated milk package attributes including packaging type, front-of-package graphics, package color, and labeled milk fat content. Focus group topics included preferences, usability, health, taste of fluid milk, and milk consumption habits. To evaluate intrinsic properties related to packaging, 3 varieties of milk (unflavored fat-free, unflavored low-fat, and chocolate-flavored fat-free) were produced and packaged in polyethylene-coated paperboard cartons, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles (all 250 mL). After 10 to 13 d of storage at 4 degrees C under dark conditions, milks were evaluated by descriptive analysis and child acceptance testing (ages 8-13 yr; n = 126, 122, and 126 for each variety, respectively). Extrinsically, package type was the most important attribute to children, but graphics, nutritional labeling, branding, package size, and overall familiarity also drove preferences. The ideal milk packaging build from the conjoint survey was an HDPE bottle with blue-colored packaging and a cow graphic, labeled as low-fat milk. Intrinsically, all varieties of milks packaged in paperboard cartons developed package-specific flavors, including refrigerator/stale and paperboard, after 10 d of storage. These off-flavors were not detected in HDPE- or PET-packaged milks. For unflavored milks, child consumers preferred the flavor of PET- or HDPE-packaged milks over cartons, regardless of milk fat content, but preferences were not distinct for chocolate-flavored milk. The results of this study demonstrate that children's liking and preference for milk are driven by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors and suggest that improvements are needed to increase acceptance of milk currently served in school meal programs. CI - Copyright (c) 2021 American Dairy Science Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. FAU - Sipple, L R AU - Sipple LR AD - Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695. FAU - Schiano, A N AU - Schiano AN AD - Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695. FAU - Cadwallader, D C AU - Cadwallader DC AD - Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695. FAU - Drake, M A AU - Drake MA AD - Department of Food, Bioprocessing, and Nutrition Sciences, Southeast Dairy Foods Research Center, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695. Electronic address: maryanne_drake@ncsu.edu. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20210302 PL - United States TA - J Dairy Sci JT - Journal of dairy science JID - 2985126R SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Child MH - *Consumer Behavior MH - *Food Preferences MH - Humans MH - *Milk MH - Perception MH - Schools MH - Taste MH - United States OTO - NOTNLM OT - children OT - conjoint analysis OT - consumer acceptance OT - fluid milk OT - packaging EDAT- 2021/03/06 06:00 MHDA- 2021/04/27 06:00 CRDT- 2021/03/05 05:45 PHST- 2020/08/30 00:00 [received] PHST- 2020/12/17 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2021/03/06 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2021/04/27 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2021/03/05 05:45 [entrez] AID - S0022-0302(21)00223-X [pii] AID - 10.3168/jds.2020-19546 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - J Dairy Sci. 2021 May;104(5):5303-5318. doi: 10.3168/jds.2020-19546. Epub 2021 Mar 2.