Journal of Sensory Studies最新文献

Olfactory stimulation promotes motor activity in adults. However, the effect of odor stimulation on children's motor activity is not well understood. In this study, given the importance of feeding behavior in children, and the involvement of balance ability in that behavior, we examined the effects of soy sauce and vanilla odors, as food-related olfactory stimuli, on balance ability in 67 healthy, normal developing children aged 3–6 years. The participants were randomly divided into water (control), soy sauce, and vanilla groups, and their balance ability was assessed before and after olfactory stimulation using the Functional Reach Test (FRT). The results showed that the soy sauce and vanilla odor exposure extended the reaching distance and forward shift in the center of gravity in the FRT, indicating that food odors improved the balance ability of children.

Practical Applications

We have shown that soy sauce and vanilla odors improve balance ability in children. Such odor stimulation could be useful for children with cerebral palsy who have balance disorders. A better understanding of the neural mechanisms that link olfactory stimulation with motor activity will facilitate the therapeutic application of odors for children with motor disorders.

In this pilot study, the effects of temporary visual deprivation on sensitivity to the basic tastes in normal sighted subjects were assessed. The sip-and-spit method to assess taste recognition thresholds was applied. The recognition thresholds of five basic tastes were assessed in two conditions: when the participants were blindfolded and when their blindfolds were removed and their eyes were open. In the blindfolded condition, the recognition threshold for sweet taste (saccharose) was lower than in the eyes open condition (means: 2.49 g/L vs. 3.80 g/L, p = .046). For bitter taste, a similar tendency was observed, but the difference did not reach statistical significance (means: 0.11 g/L vs. 0.13 g/L, p = .078). No difference in taste recognition thresholds between these two conditions were noted for salty, sour, and umami. Thus, the impact of temporary visual deprivation on taste experience seems stronger for sweet than for other taste modalities.

Practical Applications

Our pilot study suggests potential applications, for example, re-evaluating sugar content in foods served in dim/dark environments, like cinemas or blind cafés where food is consumed in total darkness. The sweet taste recognition threshold for saccharose being lower by 1.3 g/L in dark surroundings than in lit environments may become an incentive for beverages/snacks/desserts producers to lower sugar content. Coco-Cola Original Taste has 10.6 g of sugar/100 mL, and a 1-L Coca-Cola serving (one of the cinema-sized beverages) contains 106 g of sugar (22 teaspoons). An appropriate reduction of sugar in such beverages should not change their taste/palatability, and may benefit consumers and producers (Valicente et al., 2023, Journal of Sensory Studies, 38(1), e12803). For instance, Coca-Cola/Coke is produced by mixing a relevant syrup with water and adding CO₂ (Coca-Cola Original Taste/Zero Sugar/Cherry, etc.); producing an additional syrup with lower than original sugar content seems feasible for a company regularly introducing new products to the market.

Food and wine pairing has been studied in marketing, sensory science, and hospitality fields to evaluate the gastronomic experience of consumers. In this study, three Chinese red wines (Cabernet Gernischt: CG, Marselan: MS, and Vitis amurensis Rupr: VR) were paired with two French cheeses (Brie and Camembert) and two Chinese cheeses [sweet cheese (SWC) and salty cheese (SAC)]. The physicochemical properties of wines and cheeses were determined. Also, sensory profiles of wine and cheese samples were collected using 100 participants by a check-all-that-apply (CATA) test, and the ideal pairing of wines and cheeses was evaluated using hedonic, flavor intensity, and body-to-body relationship tests. The results showed that VR wine presented a sweet flavor and full body. MS and CG wines have a strong, bitter taste and a hot and rough mouthfeel than VR wine. The flavors of Camembert and Brie cheeses were richer and more complex than those of SWC and SAC. The textures of Camembert and Brie were elastic, smooth, creamy, fatty, and soft. VR wine enhanced consumer preference for all four types of cheeses (each combination liking score is more than six). Wine characteristics were suppressed and not enhanced by pairing with cheese. The ideal pair evaluation in terms of flavor intensity and body-to-body relationship confirmed that wines dominated these two aspects for cheese-wine pairs.

Practical Applications

CATA questions conducted with consumers are popular to profile and characterize food and beverage products. This investigation helps validate CATA method applications in food and wine pairing areas. In addition, the hedonic, flavor intensity, and body-to-body tests of Chinese wine and Chinese cheese pairing are helpful in promoting the development of the Chinese wine and cheese industry. The findings provide future research directions in pairing principles of food and beverages.

The information present on packages of low-sodium food can affect the different segment consumers' sensory and affective perceptions. The objective of the study was to investigate to which extent the package information on the reduction of sodium can reduce acceptance (compromised acceptance threshold—CAT) or cause rejection (hedonic rejection threshold—HRT) in different segments of salty crackers consumers. Consumers were segmented into little, medium, and great health concerns (GHC) using the Health Consciousness Scale, but only the two last groups were studied. Three trials were conducted: blind trial, with no information about the product; trial “Love your life!,” with package bringing information about sodium reduction, traffic light alerts and additional information “Love your life!”; and the trial “Great flavor,” with package similar to the previous trial, but with the additional information “Great flavor.” The hedonic thresholds were determined for each trial and for the medium and great health concern segments. Package information on the sodium reduction had no influence on CAT and HRT values for consumers expressing medium health concerns. However, the additional sentence “Great flavor” negatively influenced the CAT values of this segment. For consumers expressing GHC, the presence of the package allowed a more significant sodium chloride reduction without affecting the cracker sensory acceptance. For this segment, the package with the additional sentence “Great flavor” had the most significant favorable influence on the results. Therefore, for most of the population, food industries need not be afraid to report on the reduction of sodium on food labels.

Practical applications

Hedonic threshold values are very useful for industries that intend to reduce the sodium CAT and without HRT of their products. In addition, the results of this study can help industries in the process of package development for low-sodium products, allowing a more significant reduction of this ingredient without compromising the product's sensory acceptance or without resulting in rejection. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that there is adequate communication, regardless of whether the consumer segment has medium or GHC.

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.