Seaweeds have been proposed as a sustainable and nutritionally beneficial ingredient to be incorporated into foods in the Western world. However, consumption of seaweed is still quite low. As such, this sensory trial presented information about the nutritional benefits, sustainability, and current consumption of seaweed to investigate how it impacted the participants' (n = 132) sensory perception. Participants received the same smoothie sample containing brown seaweed (Ascophyllum nodosum) twice, once before and after receiving information about brown seaweed. The participants were presented with information about one of the following areas: the nutritional benefits, the sustainability of seaweed, or the current consumption of seaweed. The participants evaluated the sensory properties, their emotional responses and their liking of each sample. The nutritional information and consumption information had a positive impact on the sensory perception and hedonic scores of the smoothie sample, and led the participants to indicating that seaweed should be incorporated into more foods. The consumption information also impacted the emotional response (increased selection of "secure/at ease" and "relaxed/calm"). The sustainable information led to an increased perception of fishiness in the smoothie and a decreased perception of sweetness. The results identify that information about nutritional benefits and current consumption may be able to improve acceptance and sensory perception of food items containing seaweed. The presentation of nutritional benefits and current consumption on products could lead to an increased acceptance of seaweed-containing products by consumers living in the Western world. All rights reserved, Elsevier.
