Journal of Sensory Studies最新文献

Cluster analysis is often used to group consumers based on their hedonic responses to products. We give a motivating example in which conventional cluster analyses converge on a solution where consumers do not agree on which products they like. We show why this occurs. We state a goal: to group together consumers who have a shared opinion of which products are delightful and which products are not delightful, apart from consumers who have a different opinion. To meet this goal, we code consumers' hedonic responses in ways inspired by top-k box analysis, then cluster consumers using b-cluster analysis. For comparison, we cluster consumers using two conventional methods. We interpret each cluster by focusing on which product(s) the cluster accepts and whether a large proportion of cluster members are aligned in accepting these products. Solutions from b-cluster analysis based on top-k box-inspired codings met our goal better than conventional approaches, indicating that these methods deserve further study.

Practical Applications

Cluster analysis outcomes are profoundly shaped by a researcher's decisions related to response coding and clustering algorithm. This paper highlights the importance of determining the goal of the cluster analysis first, then selecting a response coding and clustering algorithm to best meet this goal. Our stated goal is one that is frequently of interest in sensory evaluation but is not well met by conventional clustering approaches. The novel approaches that we give in this paper meet the goal and are available using software that is freely available in the public domain.

Dark chocolate is a complex food defined by its unique flavor, taste, mouthfeel, and melting properties. The craft chocolate market is a new segment of the US confectionery industry that highlights cocoa bean origin by making two-ingredient dark chocolate composed of cocoa liquor and sugar. To study the impact of natural variance in fat levels inherent to unblended cocoa liquor in two-ingredient chocolate, we made 70% cacao dark chocolate from cocoa liquor reconstituted from cocoa powder and cocoa butter at total fat contents of 30%, 35%, and 40% (w/w), and collected sensory and acceptability data from 108 regular chocolate consumers. Increasing fat content did not significantly affect liking (p > .05). However, with increasing fat levels, perceived intensities of bitter taste, cocoa flavor, and drying mouthfeel significantly decreased, and sweet taste perception significantly increased (p < .05). Consumer chocolate preference (milk vs. dark) significantly affected perceived intensity of drying mouthfeel.

Practical Applications

Our research suggests that liking of astringent stimuli may result in decreased perception of astringency in highly astringent foods. Further research is recommended to understand this mechanism as well as the physical and chemical underpinnings by which fat content impacts sensory perception of dark chocolate.

The Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) method was compared with the Adapted-Pivot-Test (APT) method, a recently published method based on pair comparisons between a coded wine and a reference sample, called pivot, and using a set list of attributes as in CATA. Both methods were compared using identical wines, correspondence analyses and Chi-square test of independence, and very similar questionnaires. The results showed that CATA was more robust and more descriptive than the APT with 50–60 panelists. The p-value of the Chi-square test of independence between wines and descriptors dropped below 0.05 around 50 panelists with the CATA method, when it never dropped below 0.8 with the APT. The discussion highlights differences in settings and logistics which render the CATA more robust and easier to run. One of the objectives was also to propose an easy set-up for university and food industry laboratories.

Practical Applications

Our results describe a practical way of teaching and performing the CATA method with university students and online tools, as well as in extension courses. It should have applications with consumer studies for the characterization of various food products. Additionally, we provide an improved R script for correspondence analyses used in sensory characterization and a Chi-square test to estimate the number of panelists leading to robust results. Finally, we give a set of data that could be useful for sensory and statistics teaching.

Dairy products are constantly launched, mainly focusing on healthiness, especially for the public, like people with food allergies. However, raising consumer awareness is a great challenge, especially about new products with health claims. This study used the text-highlighting (TH) methodology associated with acceptance tests to assess Brazilian consumers' explicit attitudes toward A2 milk. In the task, consumers were asked to highlight in a text the terms they “liked” or “disliked” about the milk's nutritional importance, the difference between A1 and A2 milk, health benefits and harmful effects, and the necessity for more studies and awareness about the A2 milk. Sensory acceptance pre and post-text were also measured. A high engagement of consumers with the TH could be observed, which suggests good intuitiveness of the technique. Including information about the nutritional value of milk and the difference between both kinds of milk may increase positive consumer perception, as it encourages consumers to express their value judgment in the form of “liked”. On the other hand, information simultaneously, the harms of the formation of BCM-7 (in A1 milk) prompted consumers to express their value judgment in the “disliked” highlights. This underscores the importance of raising consumer awareness about the product and the need for more studies on the real effects of A2 milk on the body and the implementation of specific legislation. Moreover, it was observed that information should be in a simple and direct language, as technical terminology in the text did not have a positive effect, such as the information about the genetic mutation. TH produced valuable insights that can be used in communication strategies with A2 milk.

Practical application

The findings of this study show practical utility for consumer-based methodologies, focusing on the text-highlighting method approach and its influence on consumer perceptions. Moreover, the results show practical utility to direct regulation, consumer awareness, and product commercialization of A2 milk.

Previous research has revealed that consumers spend less (more) money when paying through cash (credit card). This effect has been attributed to the pain of paying, which is higher (lower) in the case of cash (credit card) payments. We tested the pain-of-paying phenomenon at a bar and collected objective data on almost 1000 beer transactions, including information about the size of the beer consumed (small vs. large), the price paid per beer, the style of the beer, and consumers' payment method (cash vs. credit card). Consumers paying with cash (vs. credit card) spent less money per beer and were less inclined to choose large (vs. small) beers, with the payment method effect on money spent mediated by the size of the purchased beer. Moreover, those paying with cash (vs. credit card) were more inclined to choose dark beers, whereas their probability of purchasing India Pale Ales (IPAs) was directionally lower.

Practical Applications

Given our findings that payment method seems to influence alcohol consumption, these results should have important implications for bar and restaurant managers as well as for interventions aimed at mitigating consumer overspending on alcoholic beverages. Specifically, our findings align with research suggesting that card payments promote less healthy and more impulsive choices than cash payments. Excessive alcohol consumption is associated with numerous psychophysiological problems, whereas developing social ties, which is common among craft beer enthusiasts, reduces stress levels and improves mental health. Therefore, a reasonable compromise seems to be that policymakers recommend cash payments for alcoholic beverages to maximize social network development while minimizing the risk of excessive alcohol consumption. The result that consumers who paid with cash (vs. credit card) were more prone to purchase dark beers but slightly less likely to buy IPAs warrants further investigation.

The sense of smell is essential in daily life. Children with olfactory dysfunction face a series of problems, so assessing olfactory function during early-life period is very important. The Universal Sniff (U-Sniff) test is a widely used measurement of odor identification ability in children and adolescents, although there is a lack of normative data in China. Therefore, the aim of this study was to establish normative data for the U-Sniff test in a large sample of healthy Chinese children and adolescents. A total of 922 healthy children and adolescents (441 boys, 481 girls) aged 6–17 years from China were involved in this study. Odor identification performance was assessed using the U-Sniff test. The U-Sniff test mean score across all participants was 10.50 ± 1.73 points (range 1–12). U-Sniff test scores increased with age, and no effects of sex or an interaction between age group and sex were recorded in this population.

Practical Applications

There is currently no published data reporting normative data of the U-Sniff test among Chinese children and adolescents. From the present research, normative data for olfactory identification using the U-Sniff test have been established for Chinese population aged 6–17 years. This study provides routine measurements to support future examinations at hospitals, school check-ups and so on, which can help patients with reduced olfactory function receive appropriate therapy as early as possible.

Odorants in food or beverages might enhance the taste. This phenomenon is called Odor-Induced Taste Enhancement (OITE). OITE has been shown using taste-intensity visual analog scales (VAS). VAS is often criticized because it is prone to halo-dumping effects. We compared VAS and ranking methods to evaluate OITE in people living with normal-weight or obesity. Sweet apple juice and salty green-pea soup were spiked with either vanillin or bacon odorants to produce OITE. In the VAS experiment, saltiness, sweetness, sourness, bitterness and the global aroma intensities were evaluated for each base with and without the odorants. The ranking task consisted in ranking from the lowest to the highest sweetness/saltiness intensities, three references with increasing tastant concentration and a target solution with the lowest tastant concentration and the odorant. VAS highlighted OITE neither in the apple juice nor in the green-pea soup, in no group. The ranking method revealed an OITE in the green-pea soup in both groups, and only the group with obesity experienced OITE in the apple juice.

Practical Applications

The ranking task appears as an optimal method to highlight OITE and is sufficiently sensitive to demonstrate subtle differences related to participants' weight status. The ranking task is easy to perform, does not require training and does not imply a high number of participants to be statistically powered. Odor-Induced Taste Enhancement is a strategy that might be employed to significantly reduce salt, and sugar, while maintaining an acceptable taste intensity, at home as well as in food formulation by the industry.

The coffee market is dynamic and offers several products (e.g., powder, capsule, instant, and grain) distributed in different quality categories, such as traditional, extra strong, special, gourmet, and premium. However, despite the diversity of products, there is little information about how consumers with different sociodemographic characteristics perceive and idealize high-quality coffees. This study used a modified Word Association task (n = 142) to determine the attributes of high-quality coffee and the Maximum Difference Scale (n = 330) to organize the attributes concerning their importance between groups of consumers from different sociodemographic levels. Consumers considered flavor, aroma, and intensity as the most important attributes of high-quality coffees, regardless of gender or socioeconomic class. In addition, price and sweetness were important attributes for class C consumers, while temperature and roasting were more important for class A.

Practical Application

Knowing the specificities of coffee consumers allows the manufacturer to direct their products to different niches that perceive the product differently.