Characterisation of chocolate eating behaviour

Knowledge concerning variation in chocolate eating behaviour amongst consumers, and the impact that differences in the physical properties of chocolate could have on such behaviour is limited. The eating behaviour of individuals, consuming two chocolate samples (A and B), of comparable melt viscosity but with different textural attributes, was investigated. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to evaluate masticator muscle activity and electroglottography (EGG) was used to record swallowing events. Results showed that observed differences in mouthcoating affected the in-mouth residence time: chocolate A, perceived as more mouthcoating, showed an increased total chewing time and time of last swallow. Key differences across subjects were: time and number of chews, time of last swallow and total number of swallows. Subjects were grouped into three clusters of eating behaviour characterised as, "fast chewers", "thorough chewers" and "suckers". The main differences between clusters were the time chocolate was kept in mouth, chew rate and muscle work.