Applied Sensory Analy of Foods PDF

INTRODUCTION

Practical product development is ultimately founded upon the satisfaction of consumer needs. Proper understanding of these needs is dependent upon clear communication with consumers through a common language. The communication challenge begins with the fact that the everyday language of the consumer and that of the food scientist are quite different. People generally tend to use a limited, inconsistent, and relatively nonspecific vocabulary to describe their perceptions. Food scientists, on the other hand, require comprehensive, consistent, and very specific terminology in order to fine-tune product dimensions into new product designs

Unless a definite research approach and questioning sequence is thoroughly planned in advance of a product study, the resulting information will be confusing and of minimal value. Consumer’s confusion with questions and difficulty with tasks must also be anticipated. Consumers need to be guided in an organized manner throughout the study so that they can understand what is required of them. Ambiguities in questioning and in responses are a constant concern in interviewing consumers and can make the difference between a productive study and one that is meaningless.

Consumer discussions need to be focused. When asked for taste reactions to a soft drink, a respondent is apt to use generalizations such as “ I like it/1 don’t like it” , “ It’s good/It’s bad” , or “ It’s strong/It’s flat/It’s heavy” . Although the extent of liking is an important part of any evaluation, the specifics of why the person likes or doesn’t like the product are crucial information for technical guidance. Vague taste descriptors such as “ strong” , “ flat” , or “ heavy” are meaningless unless qualified by additional references or replaced by more accurate terms. For example, does “ strong” for a beverage refer to too much flavor or too much aftertaste? Furthermore, what kind of flavor or aftertaste is being referred to? Does “ flat” mean not enough carbonation or not enough flavor? Does “ heavy” mean too much syrup or too cloudy? Often, the meanings of such words go beyond two or three possible interpretations.

Fortunately, these apparent difficulties can be overcome, and standardized consumer research techniques can be applied throughout the entire research and development process. Consumer language research can enhance product development by:

1. Providing a better understanding of what attributes mean in technical terms

2. Building more consistent attribute lists for product evaluation 3. Initiating a systematic approach for improving consumer acceptance of products

Author: Howard R. Moskowitz