{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,8]],"date-time":"2026-10-08T12:26:35Z","timestamp":1791462395957,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,7]],"date-time":"2025-01-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736208000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"European Union","award":["2131"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2131"]}]},{"name":"Basque Government","award":["2131"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2131"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Foods"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Mediterranean diet adherence has been decreasing during the last few decades, and non-appropriate snacking habits have also been identified among Mediterranean children and adolescents. To co-create new snacks and to explore children\u2019s interests and preferences, a multi-method approach was used in the present study, including some qualitative and quantitative research phases. Conducted in collaboration with schools in Lebanon, Egypt, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, different snack prototypes were designed and tested in a Mediterranean cross-cultural context. The results showed significant differences among countries in snacking preferences and general food-related attitudes. Italian children exhibited higher levels of neophobia, resulting in lower acceptance of all proposed snacks. Some sensory and contextual insights were collected, such as Egyptian children favoring sweet and crunchy textures and \u201cAt school\u201d, \u201cWith my friends\u201d, and \u201cAs a morning\/afternoon snack\u201d being identified as linked to snack acceptance in some countries. The present study underscores the value of co-creation processes involving children to address non-recommended dietary patterns, highlighting the critical role of sensory properties, cultural differences, and contextual factors in designing healthy snacks that meet the Mediterranean diet\u2019s principles but are highly appreciated by the young segment of the population.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/foods14020159","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,7]],"date-time":"2025-01-07T08:40:12Z","timestamp":1736239212000},"page":"159","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Co-Creating Snacks: A Cross-Cultural Study with Mediterranean Children Within the DELICIOUS Project"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6105-4024","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Romeo-Arroyo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"BCC Innovation, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7517-1440","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Mora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BCC Innovation, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"},{"name":"Basque Culinary Center, Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences, Mondragon Unibersitatea, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0002-4795-8374","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Olatz","family":"Urkiaga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BCC Innovation, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"},{"name":"Basque Culinary Center, Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences, Mondragon Unibersitatea, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nahuel","family":"Pazos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BCC Innovation, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Noha","family":"El-Gyar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71515, Egypt"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Raquel","family":"Gaspar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Provincia Portuguesa da Congregacao dos Irmaos Maristas, Estr. De Benfica 372, 1500-133 Lisbon, Portugal"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sara","family":"Pistolese","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Provincia d\u2019Italia dei Fratelli Maristi delle Scuole, Via Fratelli Maristi 2, 80014 Giugliano in Campania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Angelique","family":"Beaino","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Freres Maristes au Liban, Dik el Mehdi, Beyrouth 70540, Lebanon"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3930-5285","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Giuseppe","family":"Grosso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"},{"name":"Center for Human Nutrition and Mediterranean Foods (NUTREA), University of Catania, 95123 Catania, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8034-2729","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pablo","family":"Bus\u00f3","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Technological Institute for Children\u2019s Products & Leisure AIJU, 03440 Alicante, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Juancho","family":"Pons","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Editorial Luis Vives (EDELVIVES), Carretera de Madrid, 50012 Zaragoza, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4174-9283","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Laura","family":"V\u00e1zquez-Ara\u00fajo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"BCC Innovation, Technology Center in Gastronomy, Basque Culinary Center, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"},{"name":"Basque Culinary Center, Faculty of Gastronomic Sciences, Mondragon Unibersitatea, 20009 Donostia-San Sebasti\u00e1n, Spain"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"294","DOI":"10.1186\/s12967-024-05095-w","article-title":"Underrated aspects of a true Mediterranean diet: Understanding traditional features for worldwide application of a \u201cPlaneterranean\u201d diet","volume":"22","author":"Godos","year":"2024","journal-title":"J. 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