Sensory Science 101

Part II: Sensory Evaluation Methods

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© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists

 What is Sensory Evaluation?

“A scientific discipline used to evoke, measure, analyze and

interpret those responses to products that are perceived by
the senses of sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing.”

Stone, H and Sidel, JL. 1993. Sensory Evaluation Practices. 2nd ed. Academic Press: San Diego.

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 2

 How is Sensory Evaluation Used?
• In a food company, sensory scientists work closely with
product developer’s to understand:
 What consumers like and why
 If consumers can tell a difference when they change a product (e.g.
substitute an ingredient)

• In academia, sensory scientists:

 Try to understand how our senses work and how our senses respond
to stimuli (both from food and chemicals)
 Improve testing methodology

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 3

 Why Is Sensory Evaluation Used?
• It reduces uncertainty and risks in decision making

• It ensures a cost-efficient delivery of new products with high

consumer acceptability

• Human observers are good measuring instruments

 People can sometimes detect odorants at levels lower than what can
be detected by an instrument
 Instruments can not measure liking (although they can be used to
determine what characteristics of a food correlate with liking - e.g. with
many beverages – up to a point - as sweetness increases so does
liking)

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 4

 Principles of Good Practice
• Facilities should be well designed
 White or off-white color
 Lighting should be controlled
 There should be good ventilation

• Samples should be prepared properly

 Temperature should be controlled and the same for all samples
 Volume served should be equal for all samples
 Samples should be served at equivalent shelf-life or time since cooking/preparation

• Experimental Design Considerations

 Samples should be labeled with random 3-digit codes to avoid bias
 Samples should be served in random or counterbalanced order
• Counterbalanced order means that if 2 samples are served, half of the subjects
receive one sample first and the other half receive the other sample first
• Counterbalancing takes into account order effects

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 5

 Sensory Evaluation Methods
Question Method
• Goal is to match the right
test with the right question Are products Discrimination Tests
different?
If products Descriptive Analysis
are different,
how are they
different?
What is the Affective/Hedonic Tests
acceptability
of a product?
Is one
product
preferred
over another?
© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 6
 Discrimination Tests
• Basic Question: Are two products different from one another?
• Basic Setup
 25-50 panelists
 Screened for acuity (keenness or sharpness of perception, i.e. can they smell
and taste well?)
 Given triangle, duo-trio or paired comparison tests
 Analysis is done using tables which compare results to chance – this analysis
ensures that the difference was real and not because people chose the
correct sample by luck/chance

• Advantage
 Quick and simple

• Limitations
 Limited results – only yes they are different or no they are not

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 7

 Discrimination Tests
• Question: Are two products different from one another?

• Triangle Test: Choose the sample that is most different

A A B

342 608 194

• Duo-trio Test: Choose the sample that matches the reference

Reference (B) A B

437 821 976

• Paired Comparison Test: Which sample is sweeter?

B A

035 759

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 8

 Descriptive Tests
• Basic Question: How do products differ in all sensory attributes?

• Basic Setup
 8-12 panelists
 Screened for acuity
 Trained
 Asked to rate intensity for all sensory attributes
 Analysis is done using a t-test to determine if means are statistically different

• Advantages
 Detailed quantitative information

• Limitations
 Time consuming

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 9

 Descriptive Tests
• Most food companies have a panel that is trained on each of
their products

• To train a panel takes several weeks to months

• There are several different methods of training

 Quantitative Descriptive Analysis
 Sensory Spectrum
 Flavor Profile

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 10

 Sample Ballot
305

Descriptive Tests
• What does trained mean?

• It means that the panelists are trained

to evaluate products similar to how
any instrument would give a reading

• In essence, the panelists are

calibrated so that they have an
understanding of each attribute and
the range of intensity

• For example, a trained panel would

be a given a sample of grape juice
and would be able to rate the level of
turbidity, color, viscosity, etc..

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 11

 Descriptive Tests
• Mean attribute ratings are
calculated, statistics is used to
determine if the means are
significantly different

• The data can be plotted onto

graphs – such as the spider plot –
to easily compare samples

• In this example three brands of

grape juice were compared:
 Which is sweeter?
 Which has more cooked flavor?

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 12

 Consumer Acceptance Tests
• Basic Question: Are the products liked?

• Basic Setup
 75-150 consumers per test
 Screened for product use (Do they buy the product? And how often?)
 Asked degree of liking (how much do they like it) and/or preference
questions

• Advantages
 Provides essential information – Do they like it or not?

• Disadvantages
 May be difficult to get a representative sample of consumers

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 13

 Consumer Acceptance Tests
• Acceptance Tests
 Used to measure how much people like a product
 There are several types of scales that can be used
Sample Ballot
Taste each product in the order listed. Circle how much you like the product.
The
Quartermaster Smiley
Corp. Scale
9-point hedonic (liking) scale
(Used with kids)
(Most common)
9 LIKE EXTREMELY
8 LIKE VERY MUCH
7 LIKE MODERATELY
6 LIKE SLIGHTLY
5 NEITHTER LIKE NOR DISLIKE
4 DISLIKE SLIGHTLY
3 DISLIKE MODERATELY
2 DISLIKE VERY MUCH
1 DISLIKE EXTREMELY

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 14

 Consumer Acceptance Tests
• Preference Tests
 The “Pepsi Challenge” type of test that is widely used in marketing
research
 Used to determine which product is preferred, although people have
the option to choose “no preference”

Sample Ballot

Taste each product in the order that they are listed.

Circle the number of the product that you prefer, all things considered.

470 193 no preference

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 15

 Careers in Sensory Evaluation
• Job Titles: • Job Responsibilities:
 Sensory Scientist  Experimental design
 Sensory Analyst  Sample Preparation
 Sensory Technician  Perform, analyze, and report
experimental results
• Employers:
 Troubleshooting
 Food processors
 Cosmetic and fragrance
manufacturers Sensory Scientist at Work!
 Ingredient
manufacturers/suppliers
 Academia (Higher Education)
 Consumer and marketing
research firms
 Self-employed/Consultant

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 16

 Want to learn more?
• Visit:
 http://www.ift.org
 http://school.discovery.com/foodscience/

• Find a Food Scientist:

 A database of IFT members who are willing to
provide more information about the field of food
science to you
 http://members.ift.org/IFT/Education/TeacherResources/findafoodscientist.htm

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 17

 Questions?

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 18

 Activity
• Triangle Sensory Test with Oreo Cookies

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 19

 References
Lawless, HT and Heymann, H. 1998. Sensory Evaluation of
Food: Principles and Practices. New York: Chapman &
Hall.

© 2007 Institute of Food Technologists 20

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