Editorial special section “Sensory troubles and altered eating: towards gastronomic solutions for patients, caregivers and professionals

Contributions to this special issue of Clinical Nutrition Online were invited from speakers at the Second International Symposium on Altered Taste held at the Institut Paul Bocuse in June 2022. Altered taste is employed as an umbrella expression that highlights a shift or change in the perception of food flavour and eating behaviour that has a negative impact on health. In a wide variety of conditions and throughout the life-course, altered taste may be a life-changing health concern, but it is commonly overlooked and rarely raised as a clinical issue or seen as a condition warranting specialist attention. The Symposium was novel in drawing attention to altered taste as a concern for health care providers and in bringing gastronomy into conversation with clinicians, sensory scientists, providers and patients. The contributions to the special edition reflect this diversity and include i) traditional research papers, as well as ii) examples ‘from the field’ in how this knowledge is translated by users including chefs, cooks and patients and in the final contribution, iii) how this work may continue with a manifesto for a new international consortium on altered taste (I-eAT).