(4202) Can You Really Taste the Difference Between food that is Brand Name or No Name?
Lindsay Scott
Bethany Hills


Abstract


Can You Really Taste the Difference Between food that is Brand Name or No Name?

In my experiment I wanted to see if people could tell the difference between foods that are no name or that have a brand name. I believe that people will not be able to taste the difference between food that is a brand name or that is no name because they are made of similar ingredients so people won t be able to taste the difference. I bought 4 pairs of food with each pair including a Brand Name and No Name version. I then asked 12 participants to taste each food in the pair and tell me which was Brand Name and which was No Name. I recorded their responses. With four product pairs and 12 subjects there were 48 opportunities to select which product the participant thought was No name and which was Brand Name. In total 21 correct and 27 incorrect answers were provided for a correct rate of 43%. With 3 of the 4 food product pairs, more participants indicated the incorrect answer with more participants indicating the correct answer for the popcorn pair. Overall the females had 53% correct and 47 % incorrect while the males had 13% correct and 87% incorrect. My hypothesis was correct. Many people cannot taste the difference between No Name and Brand Name foods. Less than half of the participants in my experiment were able to do so. Females were more likely to taste the difference than males. Females are known to have a greater number of taste buds that are more sensitive than males.