Perceptual processing strategy and exposure influence the perception of odor mixtures

In flavor perception, both experience with the components of odor/taste mixtures and the cognitive strategy used to examine the interactions between the components influence the overall mixture perception. However, the effect of these factors on odor mixtures perception has never been studied. The present study aimed at evaluating whether 1) previous exposure to the odorants included in a mixture or 2) the synthetic or analytic strategy engaged during odorants mixture evaluation determines odor representation. Blending mixtures, in which subjects perceived a unique quality distinct from those of components, were chosen in order to induce a priori synthetic perception. In the first part, we checked whether the chosen mixtures presented blending properties for our subjects. In the second part, 3 groups of participants were either exposed to the odorants contributing to blending mixtures with a "pineapple" or a "red cordial" odor or nonexposed. In a following task, half of each group was assigned to a synthetic or an analytical task. The synthetic task consisted of rating how typical (i.e., representative) of the target odor name (pineapple or red cordial) were the mixtures and each of their components. The analytical task consisted of evaluating these stimuli on several scales labeled with the target odor name and odor descriptors of the components. Previous exposure to mixture components was found to decrease mixture typicality but only for the pineapple blending mixture. Likewise, subjects engaged in an analytical task rated both blending mixtures as less typical than did subjects engaged in a synthetic task. This study supports a conclusion that odor mixtures can be perceived either analytically or synthetically according to the cognitive strategy engaged

Evaluation of the validity of temporal sensory evaluation methods carried out by consumers on controlled stimuli delivered by a gustometer

International audienceTemporal sensory evaluation is increasingly used with consumers. However, very few studies have investigated the repeatability and resolution of the methods used. Thus, this study aimed to fill in the gap by comparing the conclusions drawn from data collected using three temporal sensory methods performed with consumers on time model solutions delivered using a gustometer. One hundred and fifty consumers were recruited. After familiarization and a recognition task, they were divided into 3 panels, each using a different method to describe their temporal perception: Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS), Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA), and Attack-Evolution-Finish (AEF). Fourteen solutions of varying complexity were evaluated, including four evaluated twice. These solutions delivered by the gustometer varied in composition (including 3 to 5 sapid or aromatic compounds: acid, salty, sweet, lemon, and basil), in intensity levels (weak, medium, and strong), and in delivering order.The temporal resolution and the repeatability of the 3 sensory evaluation methods decreased with the complexity of the stimuli. While the sensory perception concurred with the composition of the solutions for simple stimuli, some unexpected results were observed when interactions between compounds occurred. Surprisingly, at the panel level, the conclusions were very similar to TDS and TCATA although they were supposed to measure different concepts (dominance vs. applicability). As expected, TDS and TCATA were superior to AEF in their capacity to highlight temporal changes during the tasting, but as a static method, AEF performed better to detect the presence of the compounds in more complex solutions. These results show that taking into account the temporal dimension in sensory perception is very challenging

A dataset of consumer perceptions of gustometer-controlled stimuli measured with three temporal sensory evaluation methods

This paper describes data on the consumer sensory perception of liquid mixtures including sapid and aromatic compounds. A total of 149 consumers participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to one of three panels. Each panel used a different temporal sensory evaluation method among Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS, n = 50), Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA, n = 50) and Attack-Evolution-Finish Rate-All-That-Apply (AEF-RATA, n = 49) to evaluate solutions delivered by a gustometer (Burghart GU002). First, four simple solutions (composed of a single compound) were delivered to the consumers to evaluate their recognition ability using Free Comment. Second, eighteen complex solutions (composed of two to five compounds varying in their sequence, intensity and duration of stimulation) were delivered to the consumers to evaluate their ability to use the three temporal evaluation methods. The compounds included sodium chloride (“salty”), saccharose (“sweet”), citric acid (“acid”), citral (“lemon”) and basil hydrosol (“basil”). The data were used to assess the validity and reliability of the temporal sensory methods in an article entitled “Assessment of the validity and reliability of temporal sensory evaluation methods used with consumers on controlled stimuli delivered by a gustometer''. The data could be reused by researchers interested in studying the effect of interactions between sapid and aromatic compounds on perception

Comparison of two sensory methods to obtain reliable dose-intensity curves for sweet taste compounds

International audienc

Assessment of the validity and reliability of temporal sensory evaluation methods used with consumers on controlled stimuli delivered by a gustometer

International audienceTemporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) and Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA) are the most used qualitative temporal sensory evaluation methods. Considered as rapid methods, they are more and more used with consumer panels. However, no study has investigated in detail the validity and reliability of these methods when they are used with consumers. This study aimed to fill in the gap by comparing the results obtained from temporal measurements to controlled temporal stimuli delivered using a gustometer. A total of 149 consumers were randomly assigned to one of three panels, each panel using a different temporal sensory evaluation method among TDS (n = 50), TCATA (n = 50) and AEF-RATA (n = 49). AEF-RATA is introduced as a new method allowing the consumers to retrospectively report the intensity of the applicable attributes in three defined periods. Using a gustometer, four single-compound solutions were delivered to the consumers to evaluate their recognition ability using Free Comment. Then, eighteen multiple-compound solutions (composed of two to five compounds varying in their sequence, concentration and duration of stimulation) were delivered to the consumers to evaluate their ability to use the three temporal evaluation methods. The compounds included sodium chloride (“salty”), saccharose (“sweet”), citric acid (“acid”), citral (“lemon”) and basil hydrosol (“basil”). The results show that consumers were able to report temporal sequences of perceived attributes congruent with the delivered sequence of compounds in the stimuli. Contrary to our hypotheses, despite different operational definitions, very few differences are observed between the TDS and TCATA measures, suggesting that most consumers interpreted applicability as dominance. Citation rates and durations of dominance/applicability are strongly correlated between them, but not with the concentration of the compounds. Individual repeatability is low, but does not impact reliability of the measures at the panel level. Consumers can be confused with attribute identification, which can make the interpretation of low citation rates tricky. TDS restores the signal the closest to the stimuli, except for durations for which TCATA performs better. AEF-RATA has no advantage over the other methods. These results open a discussion on what is possible to ask consumer panels and how not to overinterpret the results

Product discrimination ability of temporal sensory evaluation methods used with consumers

International audienceThe objective of this study was to determine which temporal sensory evaluation methods (TDS, TCATA, AEF-D, AEF-A), variables (citations, durations, times of citation) and statistical analyses are the most discriminative when measurements are collected from consumers. This study is based on data collected on model stimuli delivered by a gustometer (controlled temporal differences) and on four categories of commercial food products (crisps, guacamoles, chocolates, ice teas) presenting different levels of sensory complexity. With controlled stimuli, analyses of citations and durations both revealed the same differences, suggesting that product discrimination is mainly brought by presence/absence of sensory attributes. Compared to TCATA, TDS highlighted slightly more significant differences (including expected and unexpected differences). Short differences in durations were not captured. AEF-A was less discriminative, but presented no validity nor repeatability issues. With commercial food products, analyses of citations were more discriminative than analyses of durations and times of citations. However, the combined analysis of citations and time-related variables resulted in a small gain of discrimination. Applicability-based methods (TCATA and AEF-A) were overall more discriminative compared to dominance-b ased methods (TDS and AEF-D), but had more repeatability issue. These results suggest that when data are collected from consumers, in most situations analysing durations and times of citations would not bring much more information compared to a time-independent analysis of citations. Performances of TCATA and TDS are almost similar when used with simple stimuli presenting clear temporal patterns. With complex food products, TCATA is the most discriminative, but also the less reliable, and AEF-A presents the better compromise between discrimination and repeatability. This study showed that there is probably no ultimate method, and that every gain in temporal resolution or discrimination is assumably at the cost of a loss of reliability

Dosage du chlore dans un headspace d'eau de Javel par électrode spécifique

National audienc

Selecting odorant compounds to enhance sweet flavor perception by gas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste (GC/O-AT)

International audienceGas chromatography/olfactometry-associated taste (GC/O-AT) analysis combined with mass spectrometry allowed identification of odorant compounds associated with taste attributes (sweet, salty, bitter and sour) in a multi-fruit juice. Nine compounds were selected for their odor-associated sweetness enhancement in a multi-fruit juice odor context using Olfactoscan and for their odor-induced sweet taste enhancement in sucrose solution and sugar-reduced fruit juice through sensory tests. Sweetness of the fruit juice odor was significantly enhanced by methyl 2-methylbutanoate, ethyl butanoate, ethyl 2-methylbutanoate and linalool; sweet perception was significantly enhanced in 7% sucrose solution by ethyl 2-methylbutanoate, furaneol and γ-decalactone, and in 32% sugar-reduced fruit juice by ethyl 2-methylbutanoate. GC/O-AT analysis is a novel, efficient approach to select odorants associated with a given taste. The further screening of taste-associated odorants by Olfactoscan helps to identify the most efficient odorants to enhance a target taste perception and may be used to find new ways to modulate taste perception in foods and beverages

Efficient screening of odorants' taste dimensions by gas chromatography olfactometry associated taste (GC-OAT) and olfactoscan

International audienc

Tap water consumers differ from non-consumers in chlorine flavor acceptability but not sensitivity

International audienceUnpleasant taste and especially chlorine flavor is one of the most common reasons advocated for choosing tap water alternatives as drinking water. As a consequence, the putative link between sensitivity to chlorine flavor and tap water consumption is an issue in drinking water habits studies. In the present study, we set out to examine such a link following a strategy in which we measured chlorine flavor perception at threshold and supra-threshold level for two groups of participants selected on their drinking water consumption habits. The first group included exclusive tap water consumers and the second group included exclusive bottled water consumers. In a first experiment, we used the constant stimuli procedure to evaluate the chlorine flavor detection threshold of a group of 20 tap water consumers and a group of 20 non-consumers. In a second experiment, a group of 18 tap water consumers and a group of 17 non-consumers evaluated supra-threshold flavor intensity, liking and acceptability for eight chlorinated solutions (0–10 mg/L Cl2). The results revealed no significant difference in chlorine flavor detection threshold and supra-threshold sensitivity between tap water consumers and non-consumers. Nevertheless, tap water consumers showed a higher liking score for chlorinated solutions and were found to be more inclined to accept these solutions as drinking water. Taken together these findings suggested that consumers may disparage chlorine flavor in drinking water on the basis of their tap water cognitive representation