Do you ever wonder why sugary, unhealthy snack foods and cereals marketed to children come in such wild colors, like bright blue, purple, green and red? It may be because what we see affects how we believe something tastes.

A recent study reported in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people identified a difference in taste - even when none existed - when the color of a beverage was changed. Using Tropicana orange juice, researchers asked participants to describe the taste difference between two cups of the beverage, which were identical except that one was colored a brighter orange with food coloring. The overwhelming majority identified the brighter orange juice as tasting sweeter.

Yet when two glasses of orange juice were presented with no color change between them but with one glass sweetened with sugar, the majority of study participants were unable to discern a difference in taste.

Labels: nutrition, research, tastes