Busy lifestyles are eating into our love for food

A survey found that 60 per cent of those polled admitted to never or rarely tasting what they eat, mainly because they're too busy. In tests, 79 per cent were unable to tell the difference between basic flavours. The figure rose to 88 per cent when people were distracted and 93 per cent when they came under time pressure, according to the survey commissioned by soup and sauce makers Glorious. Just 13 per cent of people questioned said they had lunch away from their workplace, and almost half described the midday meal as 'a means to an end' to refuel the body.

"The abundance of great flavours and the range of food experiences have never been more plentiful in the UK, nor more diverse, yet our findings suggest consumers are lazy when it comes to tasting and appreciating their food," the Daily Mail quoted Psychologist David Lewis, from the Mindlab consultancy, as saying. "I doubt there's ever been such a rich tapestry of food and flavour combinations at our disposal, yet we're not savouring what we eat, which is not just a shame but a genuine waste of taste. "Our lunchtime habits in particular show that workers consume food as a means to refuelling the body and almost never, or rarely, taste what they're eating," he added.