Journal of Sensory Studies最新文献

The present research contributed to a better understanding of how check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions work by examining the relationship between likelihood of selecting a term and perceived attribute intensity. Seven consumer studies were conducted (147–157 people per study) using within-subjects experimental designs where participants twice evaluated the same set of stimuli on the same set of terms (or attributes), respectively with CATA questions and intensity scaling (7-point category scale; 1 = “not at all,” 7 = “extremely”). As a function of perceived intensity, the average CATA citation frequency tended to follow a sigmoidal-like relationship where likelihood of selecting a CATA term increased more slowly at the extreme ends of the intensity scale (1–2 and 6–7) and linearly otherwise. This illuminates why for a given term, CATA questions are less suited for discriminating between samples that are of similar “low” or “high” intensity.

Practical Applications

CATA questions are popular for sensory product characterization tasks with consumers. Despite their simplicity, they accurately discriminate among samples, and term citation frequency is a proxy for perceived intensity, albeit not a direct measure hereof. Versatility and applicability of CATA questions to characterize diverse stimuli using diverse types of terms/attributes was demonstrated. By showing that likelihood of CATA term selection typically increases with perceived intensity according to a sigmoidal-like shape, the present research shows that CATA terms best discriminate between samples when these vary in intensity rather than being of similar “low” or “high” perceived intensity.

Different approaches for handling consumer segments in L-shape data are compared in a study conducted in Norway. Consumers evaluated eight different yoghurt samples with profiles varying in three intrinsic attributes following a full factorial design. Three blocks of data were collected including sensory properties, liking ratings, and consumer attributes. Data were analyzed using two different approaches. In approach one, the one-step simultaneous L-Partial Least Square (L-PLS) Regression with average consumer liking to represent the segments was used, while approach two was based on a two-step procedure (TSP) based on Partial Least Square (PLS) Regression using dummy variables to represent the segments. The methods were compared in terms of interpretations, flexibility, and outcomes. Methodological implications, recommendations, and future research avenues are discussed.

Practical Applications

This manuscript has been devoted to two different ways of handling segmentation in L-shape data of consumer liking, sensory properties, and consumer attributes. Overall, both L-PLS and TSP approaches provide similar interpretation of results. The TSP approach, however, has the advantage of interpretating the horizontal and vertical direction in the L separately using standard regression methods. It is of interest of product development and marketing activities to identify which food product characteristics are important for consumer preferences and to better understand the characteristics of the consumers (e.g., socio-demographics) that drive the consumer acceptance of the different products.

With the extensive advancement of rapid descriptive methodologies as alternatives to conventional descriptive analysis (DA), various consumer-based methodologies have been recently introduced. The present study aimed to compare three consumer-based methodologies for sensory characterization (check-all-that-apply [CATA], flash profile [FP], and free listing [FL]) as alternatives to DA, using six ready-to-drink coffee beverages. DA was performed with 10 trained panelists, whereas each consumer evaluation was conducted with 70 untrained consumers. The consumer methodologies were in good agreement with DA for profiling differences in consumer perception of the samples' sensory attributes, showing high regression vector (Rv) values (>0.9). Although FP was the most similar to DA (Rv = 0.936), it had a long evaluation time and high tediousness, whereas the CATA and FL methods were shorter and less tedious. FP and FL could spontaneously reflect consumer perceptions, while CATA has the advantages of being a simple and versatile method for evaluating consumer perception. Considering the unique benefits of each method, these consumer-based methodologies could be viable alternatives to DA.

Practical Applications

This study indicates that CATA, FP, and FL methods could be good alternatives to DA for profiling differences in consumer perception of sensory attributes for ready-to-drink coffee beverages with medium–large sensory differences. With unique feature of each method, these consumer-based methods would be of benefit to the coffee industry to get rapid consumer perception for the sensory description of ready-to-drink coffee beverages.

The internet has become a mainstay of modern-day life, with people worldwide using social media platforms to discuss ideas and exchange opinions. In recent years, social media platforms have become a data source for research focusing on consumers' natural and spontaneous lexicons. The increased use of social media and virtual meetings means people can exchange ideas, and cultural boundaries have blurred. Thus, this study aims to investigate how culture influences the use of the beverage descriptor “floral” on social media for four different beverages when people share the same language. A social media study was performed, collecting data over 1 year in 13 English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Singapore, New Zealand, and seven Caribbean Islands. Words associated with four beverages (beer, cocktails, tea, and wine) and floral were filtered on social media mentions. A total of 258,221 mentions were obtained from different types of social media such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and so forth. The mentions were filtered to obtain the frequency of words by country. Each beverage was analyzed separately, and contingency tables were arranged by country and descriptor. A correspondence analysis was performed on each contingency table to identify relative similarities and dissimilarities between the countries in the study. Overall, rose was the most cited floral descriptor, and there was a link between beer and wine descriptions. However, for cocktails and tea, the floral descriptors varied per country. Thus, it suggests that the impact of culture on the use of floral descriptors depends on the beverage being discussed.

Practical Applications

The results obtained in this study have relevance for people interested in sensory and specifically in beverage descriptions, as well as those involved in the alcohol industry, particularly those involved in beer and wine, and the non-alcohol industry (tea). These results can drive the construction of applied and effective marketing strategic plans for the beverage and flavor industry in the areas covered by the study.

A total of n = 67 untrained attendants at an outreach science festival, online because of the COVID-19 pandemic but usually held at bars, used pictures of the brand logos to evaluate eight beers among the most commonly consumed in Spain. Projective mapping, acceptability and check-all-that-apply (CATA) were used, in all cases leading to a clear picture of the consumers' opinion. For projective mapping the panel provided four clear groups, the first dimension replicating the acceptability outcome and the second dimension separating the national beers from the foreign one. For CATA the panel differentiated beers on the basis of 8 of the 10 attributes considered. The best- and worst-rated beers in acceptability were associated, respectively, with positive and negative emotions from CATA, the worst-rated one being the only beer of type Pilsener and the one with the least alcohol.

Practical Applications

Not many works combined the use of projective mapping, check-all-that-apply, and acceptability. This study contributes to a better understanding of how those three techniques complement each other to shed light on the consumers' preference about commercial beers, based on images of their logos. The results obtained would be helpful for beer manufacturers in order to interpret the perception of commercial beers in a large market like Spain. Furthermore, this study shows the appropriateness of two-way feedback between research and outreach activities.

The present study aimed to formulate sucrose-replaced samples with natural or synthetic sweeteners, and to benchmark the temporal sensory profile of sucrose-replaced samples to a control sample (100% sucrose). Acesulfame-K, aspartame, erythritol, rebaudioside M, and sucralose replaced sucrose at four different levels (25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) in aqueous solutions. A trained sensory panel evaluated the samples with temporal check-all-that-apply. The sweeteners showed great individual differences in their ability to replace sucrose. Except for aspartame, the 25% sucrose replacement across all sweeteners was not significantly different from the control. Aspartame, erythritol, and sucralose showed no difference from sucrose for the 50% and 75% sucrose-replaced samples. In contrast, a replacement of above 25% sucrose with acesulfame-K and rebaudioside M resulted in significant variations in the aftertaste period resulting in bitter off-taste and licorice off-flavor, respectively, compared to the control. Conclusively, synthetic and natural sweeteners were able to partially replace sucrose without altering the temporal sensory profile.

Practical Applications

This study showed high variability of achievable sucrose replacement suggesting that the choice of sweetener is crucial for a successful replacement. Blends of sucralose or erythritol with sucrose was most suitable to mimic the sensory profile of sucrose. This can be applied by the food industry in the innovation of low energy food and beverage products with comparable sensory profiles to the sucrose counterparts.

The study explored attitudinal and socio-demographic differences between potential buyers and non-buyers of lettuce grown in a vertical farming (VF) system. Data were collected from people (n = 2193) in four countries—United States, Germany, Singapore, and Australia. Survey results demonstrated a clear link between positive VF attitude and intention to buy, and similarly for negative attitude and intention to not buy. A key difference between people with “lower” and “higher” purchase likelihood (more or less than 50% probability) was that the former were consistently less positive about the benefits of VF. The consumer groups largely perceived the disadvantages of VF similarly. Socio-economic differences between the consumer groups related to country of living and having children below the age of 18 living at home. The latter significantly increased the likelihood that consumers would classify a having “higher” purchase likelihood for VF-grown lettuce. German participants were less likely to have a “higher” purchase likelihood.

Practical applications

Major food system transformations are needed to feed growing global populations and ensure access to heathy diets. Proposed solutions include high-technology production systems that disentangle food production from natural ecosystems. VF is among these; it is an indoor and fully controlled method for crop production. If most consumers are positive towards VF, as past research suggests, it is paramount that they also purchase VF foods. By comparing consumers who are positively and negatively inclined towards purchasing lettuce from VF, the present research identifies children below the age of 18 living in participants' households as a significant predictor of higher intention to purchase. This may be linked to parental concern for their offspring's future lives in a world likely to be impacted by ecological challenges. A likely positive consequence for VF uptake is that children carry forward some of their food-related habits and behaviors into adulthood.

Fabric friction generates sounds that can be expected or uncomfortable depending on the application. Indeed, acoustic properties of fabrics depend on many parameters like the weave pattern or the surface roughness and according to these properties, sounds will be differently perceived by human ear. This study establishes a list of 16 attributes and the corresponding references and also a method step by step to train the panel to evaluate and characterize textile products. An example of application is presented to show the differences or similarities between samples with different friction speed. Therefore, this work represents a step toward the standardization of the approach to the sensory analysis of fabric friction sounds and can be applied to different space products.

Practical Applications

Sensory analyses are a way to objectively characterize the attributes of different products, especially textile products. Determining whether products fulfill established criteria for some attributes is important for quality control, ensuring consumer trust or drawing some correlations between mechanical and acoustic/mechanical properties. The present study aimed to set up a standardized method for the sensory analysis of fabric friction sounds of fabrics. The sensory approach developed has enabled the sensory characterization of various fabric friction sounds using the selected descriptors, making it possible to establish a sensory profile. The follow-up study will focus on the correlations between instrumental and sensory approach. In addition, different surface treatments (softener, cross-linker) will be used in order to observe their influence on the sensory profiles.