A questionnaire was developed and administered to 30 elderly consumers to explore perceptions about sensory pro erties of fmd that relate to fwd habits and food-related problems. fifty pcrcent of the survey sample believed that their food habits had changed considerably in the past 10 years, and 47% believed that health problems influenced their food selection. Few reported changes in food preparation because ofmastication problems. Approximately half believed that foods smelled and tasted as good to them now as foods did when the consumers were young. Sensory properties of food were significantly ( d .05) more important than several other factors in making purchase decisions for food preparation in three specific social contexts.