Sensory research approaches

Taking all previously gathered information into consideration, we conclude that mobile research delivers benefits additional to those of traditional sensory research, such as high external and ecological validity as well as rapid data delivery (see Table 21.1). That is why we believe it to be worth being considered as new approach in the sensory community. 

During the past 5 years, our institute has done extensive research on biological and toxicological surface and drinking water quality assessment and its relation to chemical pollution (8). Scientists discerned that water, along with other sources, has become the victim of the indifference of humans. One of the first multidisciplinary approaches of a water contamination problem was introduced in the thesis, Sensory Assessment of Water Quality (9). 

An examination of hydrolysates produced by glycosidase enzyme or pH 3.2 acid treatment of reversed-phase isolates frcm juices of "non-floral " itis vinifera vars. Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Semilion demonstrated that these grapes contain conjugated forms of monoterpenes, C, norisoprenoids, and shikimic acid-derived metabolites. The volatile conpounds obtained hydrolytically from the conjugates were produced in sufficient concentration to permit ready analysis by GC/MS. The products of pH 3.2 hydrolysis have sensory significance when assessed in a neutral wine. The study further develops the precursor analysis approach as a technique to facilitate research into varietally specific constituents of grapes. 

In conclusion, parallel synthesis and more generally, combinatorial chemistry, seems to be an attractive approach in aroma research to help identifying new odorants with interesting sensory properties. It allows rapid synthesis of a large number of components in a reasonable time. The reference compoimds can be very usefril for structure elucidation of unknown odorants. 

After an avalanche of analytical results, mainly with a view to discover a maximum number of new and typical constituents, some research groups focused their attention on the key constituents , arranging them in order of decreasing flavor contribution. This approach has been particularly conducted during the last two decades, thanks to the development of new concepts in sensory analysis and to the general tendency to improve the quality of foodstuffs. Moreover, the application of sensory analysis allowed, in collaboration with chemical methods, the identification of the compounds responsible for the aroma and, notably, determination of the intensity of individual odors of the fractions separated by chromatography. 

The microstructure of ice crystals, air bubbles, fat droplets and matrix is central to the physical and hence sensory properties of ice cream. Considering the components separately is sufficient for some properties, but for many others it is impossible to treat one component in isolation from the rest. Many mechanical, thermal and rheological properties depend on the whole microstructure this necessitates a materials science approach. Furthermore, the texture experienced during consumption depends on the manner in which the product is eaten, and the way in which the microstructure breaks down. Only when all these factors are combined is it possible for the ice cream scientist to link the ingredients and the process through the microstructure to the texture. However, the current understanding of these links is far from complete and this remains an active area of research. This chapter is only a short overview of a very complex subject, and interested readers are referred to the Further Reading for more detailed treatments. 

As was also noted, one cannot ideally isolate the systems under test. The required involvement of human sensory and motoric systems also requires the use of ancillary performance tests that establish at least some minimal levels of performance availabilities in these systems (e.g., visual acuity, etc.) in order to lend validity to measures of information-processing performance capacities. New imaging techniques and advanced electroencephalographic and magnetoencephalographic techniques such as brain mapping may offer the basis for new approaches that circumvent in part this limitation. While the cost and practicality of using these techniques routinely is likely to be prohibitive for the foreseeable future, the use of such techniques in research settings to optimize and establish validity of simpler methods can be anticipated. 

This point becomes crucial in a competitive context where FMCG companies pay more and more attention to the way consumers perceive their products. In this respect, R D and market research share common objectives. Conseqnently, there is a very strong trend toward more consumer-orientated approaches to prodnct innovation and development (MacFie, 2007 Jaeger and MacFie, 2010), which implies consumer-orientated measurements, including for descriptive purposes (van Kleef et al, 2005 Tuorila and Monteleone, 2009). Many sensory professionals have thus accepted to somehow compromise on the accuracy of DA in favour of consumer-orientated results. 

This chapter begins with a general definition of emotion and discussion of the importance of measuring emotion in sensory and consumer research. General approaches that are used to measure emotions are briefly laid out. Some of the verbal self-report emotion lexicons described in the current literature, and their applications in the sensory and consumer fields, are reviewed. The aufhors will also discuss how consumer emotional responses can be related to the output of sensory descriptive analysis. Finally, some unresolved issues in verbal self-report emotion measurement and topics for future research are discussed. 

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