The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an agenda adopted by all UN member states to be resolved by 2030. The student committee members of the Institute for SDGs Promotion at Ochanomizu University, who promote the university's SDGs activities, were interested in sensory evaluation and began to investigate perception for foods related to the SDGs. Although the students were untrained assessors, they were the future of consumption, and it seemed important to know their perceptions. We examined whether rapid methods would be effective. The consensus sensory profiling of five commercially available fair-trade chocolates was conducted. Generation of sensory words and Check-All-That-Apply method were carried out on some plant-based milk products. Snacks made with edible cricket powder were categorized by the Sorted Napping method, after disclosure of allergy and product information on the food to be tasted. To find out if there is a difference in taste between purified water from a water server and tap water, Polarized Sensory Positioning (PSP) was used to compared various types of mineral water.

　Every method was able to visualize product sensory properties and obtain problem hypotheses for the future generation.

　The taste sensor is characterized by having independent sensors for each of the five basic tastes. It can evaluate the initial taste, aftertaste, richness, and sharpness. The sensor sensitivity is based on the human threshold, and can quantify the taste that people sense. This number also serves as a guideline that most people can tell the difference in taste when it is one notch apart. It also explains the background of the development of taste sensors, which began about 30 years ago, and the specific development method. The taste sensor developed in this way is used in the marketing, product development, and sales processes. Specifically, it is used in private brand product development and renewal. The method is to investigate taste trends in marketing, then clarify the concept and target values within that, and develop products accordingly. This data is used as explanatory materials for product development meetings, and even in sales proposal materials, making it easy to understand, resulting in business negotiations that are satisfactory to both sellers and buyers. It is used not only for basic research, but also for creating taste databases and when proposing products. Proposal materials that include the measurement results are also used as explanatory materials at exhibitions and business negotiations.

　Texture terms such as "firm," "crisp," and "juicy" play an important role in food texture studies, especially in sensory evaluation. A well-organized texture lexicon assists researchers with texture evaluation. Therefore, we developed a texture lexicon consisting of 445 Japanese terms through questionnaires and a literature survey, to provide a reference material for food quality analysis and for communication of quality information. In addition, to obtain basic data for communication with consumers, we clarified consumers' recognition of each term, and further discussed dietary habits and food preferences, etc. behind terminological recognition.

　In the field of sensory evaluation research, sensory lexicons have also been developed for individual food items. With a lexicon of food sensory words, sensory evaluation can be designed effectively and efficiently in food research and development. The authors have created sensory lexicons for several foods. This paper presents an example of the development of a sensory lexicon for spaghetti and its application in sensory evaluation, as well as the current work on a sensory vocabulary for rice.

　This study conducted an objective numerical evaluation using a taste sensor system and a sensory evaluation of shiitake mushroom cooked at low temperature. Three types of fresh shiitake mushroom were used in the evaluation. The evaluation was conducted by comparing shiitake mushroom that were cooked normally and those that were cooked at low temperature. A low-temperature cooker was used to heat the shiitake mushroom at 65°C for 10 minutes.

　The analysis by the taste sensor system identified 4 evaluable tastes from the sensor output values: "bitterness/miscellaneous taste," "umami," "saltiness," and "umami richness." Furthermore, this study was able to separate the component characteristics between shiitake mushroom that were cooked normally and those that were cooked at low temperature. Those that were cooked normally showed umami, and those that were cooked at low temperature showed richness and umami. The values were higher for shiitake mushroom cooked at low temperature compared with those that were cooked normally.

　For sensory evaluation, differences based on the type of shiitake mushroom were observed; however, except for the "hardness" category, shiitake mushroom cooked at low temperature was significantly favored.

　オーストラリアの固有種であるエミューは，現在では世界各地で飼育されている。その脂肪から精製されるエミューオイルは食品，サプリメントや医療での使用を目的として市場で販売されている。本研究では気候が異なる世界の地域，すなわちオーストラリア，モンゴル，および日本の北海道と蓋井島（山口県）から無作為に得た精製エミュー油の脂肪酸組成を調べた。いずれのエミューオイルにおいても，最も多く含まれていたのは一価不飽和脂肪酸のオレイン酸で，次いでパルミチン酸，リノール酸，ステアリン酸，わずかにα―リノレン酸が検出された。これらの結果は，オレイン酸の割合が高く，α―リノレン酸の割合が低いという，家畜化されたエミューの脂肪組織の脂質を精製して得たオイルの脂肪酸組成の既報と類似していた。本研究では，蓋井島産とモンゴル産の試料のパルミチン酸濃度に有意差が認められた。パルミチン酸とパルミトレイン酸の濃度は，蓋井島産が他の産地のエミューオイルよりも有意に高かった。各地域のエミューオイルの脂肪酸組成の特性を主成分分析（PCA）により分析した。PCAの結果，そのスコアプロットが北海道産とモンゴル産のエミューオイルにおいてリノール酸含量が高いことを示した。

　Root vegetables are generally cooked by boiling or other heat treatments. In this study, we compared raw and heat-treated versions of the following root vegetables: carrots, radishes, and burdock root. The heat treatment was one of the following four: boiling (10 or 20 minutes), steaming, microwave heating, and hot air drying. The antioxidant activity and polyphenol content of these raw and heat-treated root vegetables were measured. The results showed that the raw root vegetables differed in antioxidant activity and polyphenol content. Among the three root vegetables, burdock showed the highest antioxidant activity and polyphenol content. It was also found that the antioxidant activity and polyphenol content of the root vegetables varied depending on the heat treatment methods. Furthermore, boiling tended to decrease the antioxidant activity and polyphenol content of the root vegetables, while microwave heating treatment did not decrease them to any significant extent. The correlation between the antioxidant activity and polyphenol content showed that the contribution of polyphenols to antioxidant activity varied with the type of root vegetable.

　To investigate the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on shokuiku activities in nursery schools, a mail-based questionnaire survey was conducted in June 2022 targeting 1157 nursery schools in the Tokyo Metropolitan area. The valid response rate was 44.5%, and data collected from 515 nursery schools were used in the analysis. According to the results, 87.4% of the nursery schools indicated that changes had occurred in shokuiku activities conducted at their nursery schools. In 99.1% of the nursery schools that experienced changes, a reduction in shokuiku activities (e.g. cooking programs) was observed. However, rather than keeping the activities at a reduced level, 20.0% of the nursery schools had introduced and implemented new activities such as shokuiku activities using teaching materials, cooking at the individual level, and shokuiku using information and communication technology. In an attempt to return the activities to pre-COVID-19 levels, the implementation rate of shokuiku activities in the 2022 academic year increased, especially in areas such as cooking programs, horticulture activities, activities outside nursery schools, and community-based shokuiku programs compared to the 2021 academic year. In addition, the frequency of implementing shokuiku activities varied by category.

　Despite changes in shokuiku activities in nursery schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these activities (e.g. event food programs, shokuiku activities for parents) were still ongoing.