Stakeholder Priorities for Functional Foods Intended for Children: An AHP Evaluation of Sensory, Health, Family, and Product Attributes.
6 affiliations
- 1Department of Family Science, Chinese Culture University, Taipei 111396, Taiwan.
- 2Department of Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan.
- 3Department of Hospitality Management, National Taitung Junior College, Taitung 95045, Taiwan.
- 4Graduate Institute of Technological and Vocational Education, National Taipei University of Technology, Taipei 10608, Taiwan.
- 5Department of Food and Beverage Management, Taipei City University of Science and Technology, Taipei 112302, Taiwan.
- 6Ph.D. Program in Nutrition and Food Science, Fu Jen Catholic University, New Taipei City 242062, Taiwan.
Abstract
Evaluating functional foods intended for children involves nutritional and health-related value, safety, sensory qualities, and suitability for family use. This study examined the relative priorities assigned to these attributes by adult stakeholders. An online Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) questionnaire was administered in Taiwan to parents and four professional stakeholder groups using a framework comprising six dimensions and 18 criteria. Of 39 completed questionnaires, 35 met the predefined consistency requirement and were retained. Mean weights were calculated using aggregation of individual priorities (AIP), with standard deviations, bootstrap confidence intervals, and leave-one-out analyses used to assess variability and sensitivity. Safety and ingredient trust received the highest mean weight (0.247), followed by nutritional and functional value (0.217) and sensory appeal (0.179), together accounting for 64.3% of the total weight. Food safety ranked first among the criteria (0.113), followed by taste and flavor (0.085), functional health benefits (0.085), and ingredient quality and naturalness (0.084), with rankings based on unrounded weights. The five stakeholder profiles showed relatively high rank concordance (W = 0.739, χ²(5) = 18.486, p = 0.002). Sensory appeal ranked first among industry and product development practitioners, whereas parental and family considerations ranked second among parents. These descriptive findings provide a preliminary framework for prioritizing attributes during early-stage product evaluation. They represent adult judgments rather than children's directly measured food acceptance and warrant product-specific assessment alongside children's sensory responses and family purchasing and consumption behavior.
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BibTeX
@article{chen2026stakeholder,
title = {{Stakeholder Priorities for Functional Foods Intended for Children: An AHP Evaluation of Sensory, Health, Family, and Product Attributes.}},
author = {Yen-Cheng Chen and Ching-Sung Lee and Pei-Ling Tsui and Ming-Chen Chiang and Bo-Kai Lan and Mei-Yi Tsai},
journal = {Foods (Basel, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/foods15203611},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940248},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Stakeholder Priorities for Functional Foods Intended for Children: An AHP Evaluation of Sensory, Health, Family, and Product Attributes.
AU - Yen-Cheng Chen
AU - Ching-Sung Lee
AU - Pei-Ling Tsui
AU - Ming-Chen Chiang
AU - Bo-Kai Lan
AU - Mei-Yi Tsai
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
JO - Foods (Basel, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3390/foods15203611
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940248
AB - Evaluating functional foods intended for children involves nutritional and health-related value, safety, sensory qualities, and suitability for family use. This study examined the relative priorities assigned to these attributes by adult stakeholders. An online Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) questionnaire was administered in Taiwan to parents and four professional stakeholder groups using a framework comprising six dimensions and 18 criteria. Of 39 completed questionnaires, 35 met the predefined consistency requirement and were retained. Mean weights were calculated using aggregation of individual priorities (AIP), with standard deviations, bootstrap confidence intervals, and leave-one-out analyses used to assess variability and sensitivity. Safety and ingredient trust received the highest mean weight (0.247), followed by nutritional and functional value (0.217) and sensory appeal (0.179), together accounting for 64.3% of the total weight. Food safety ranked first among the criteria (0.113), followed by taste and flavor (0.085), functional health benefits (0.085), and ingredient quality and naturalness (0.084), with rankings based on unrounded weights. The five stakeholder profiles showed relatively high rank concordance (W = 0.739, χ²(5) = 18.486, p = 0.002). Sensory appeal ranked first among industry and product development practitioners, whereas parental and family considerations ranked second among parents. These descriptive findings provide a preliminary framework for prioritizing attributes during early-stage product evaluation. They represent adult judgments rather than children's directly measured food acceptance and warrant product-specific assessment alongside children's sensory responses and family purchasing and consumption behavior.
SN - 2304-8158
ER -