Dutch consumers do not hesitate: Capturing implicit ‘no dominance’ durations using Hold-down Temporal Dominance methodologies for Sensations (TDS) and Emotions (TDE)

In the ‘classic’ Temporal Dominance (TD) method, panellists are instructed to select a dominant attribute, which remains dominant until another attribute is selected. This procedure does not allow recording ‘no dominance (ND)’. ND periods can occur because of indecisive selection behaviour due to hesitation or uncertainty about attribute selection and time needed to switch from one attribute to another. ND periods may create noise in TD data. ND can be recorded implicitly using a ‘Hold-down’ procedure, where panellists actively hold down the attribute button that is perceived dominant, but release it when no longer dominant. The ‘Hold-down’ procedure allows subjects to report indecisive behaviour simply by not holding down a button. This study compared the ‘classic’ and ‘Hold-down’ TD methodologies. One hundred and thirty-seven participants evaluated four dark chocolates in two sessions, one for sensory (TDS) and one for emotion (TDE) evaluations. Participants employed either classic (n = 68) or Hold-down (n = 69) TD following a between subjects design. Similar dominance rates and dynamic evolutions of attributes during consumption were observed for both methods. ND durations between attribute selections were shorter than 1 s during sensory and emotion evaluations. Such short ND durations unlikely reflect periods of true hesitation, but rather reflect the time needed to switch between dominant attributes. No evidence is found for Hold-down TD outperforming classic TD in terms of sensitivity and discrimination ability. In conclusion, irrespective of the conceptual likelihood regarding the occurrence of ‘no dominance’ periods, the present study failed to demonstrate moments of hesitation using the ‘Hold-down’ procedure.     

A new sensory tool to analyse the oral trajectory of biscuits with different fat and fibre contents

Reformulating traditional products such as biscuits can be a useful tool for providing the population with healthier snacks. However, it involves changes in the eating characteristics of the final product. This study focuses on the oral perception of these biscuits, using the Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS) technique with two different amounts of fat (60 g and 30 g fat/100 g flour) and fibre (4 g and 8 g fibre/100 g flour). The TDS data obtained with a trained panel showed that hardness was the first dominant attribute in all the formulations during the mastication process. The dominance of the other parameters appeared to depend more on the fat and fibre contents, as crispness appeared with high-fat biscuits and crunchiness with low-fat, high-fibre ones, whilst both attributes were perceived in intermediate formulations. In the high-fibre formulations, grittiness and dry mouthfeel appeared during chewing and dry mouthfeel was dominant. At the end of the mastication all the biscuits were perceived as pasty. A fat mouthfeel was also perceived with both high-fat and low-fat biscuits, with or without the addition of a low level of fibre. Penalty analysis based on JAR scales, showed that excessive hardness and excessive dry mouthfeel were the most penalizing sensory characteristics causing significant drop in biscuit acceptability.     

Investigation of chocolate produced from four different Brazilian varieties of cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Properly conducted cocoa fermentation is an important step for the production of high-quality chocolate. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of four cocoa varieties (CCN51, PS1030, FA13, and CEPEC 2004) inoculated with Saccharomyces cerevisiae CA11 on microbial communities and the profile of volatile compounds and sensory characteristics of chocolate. The S. cerevisiae population increased significantly (p < 0.05) during the fermentations. The microbial communities varied according to cocoa variety fermentation as assessed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). The dominant yeasts were S. cerevisiae and Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, while Lactobacillus casei and Gluconobacter oxidans were the predominant bacteria in the four different fermentations analyzed. Sixty-one volatile compounds—including aldehydes (11), ketones (10), esters (14), acids (8), alcohols (8), pyrazines (5), furans (3), and others (caffeine and heptadecane)—were detected and quantified by GC–MS in the different chocolates. The sensory analysis showed that caramel was perceptible in the chocolate of PS1030, while CEPEC2004 was related to astringency, bitterness, and chocolate flavor attributes. The chocolates produced from FA13 and CCN51 were more similar in terms of sour and chocolate aroma. A “temporal dominance of sensation” (TDS) analysis showed that although the bitter attribute was dominant, the fruity, sweet, sour, astringent, and cocoa attributes were also perceptible, depending on the cocoa variety. These results suggest that the cocoa varieties had an influence on the chocolate's quality, which should be considered to obtain chocolate with different sensory characteristics or for better standardization of the process, even when using yeast as a starter culture.     

Self-reported food-evoked emotions of younger adults,older normosmic adults,and older hyposmic adults as measured using the PrEmo2 tool and the Affect Grid

Food-evoked emotions may provide relevant consumer insights, beyond liking alone. Previous research, using the EsSense25 method, showed that the food-evoked emotion profiles of adults vary along the two dimensions valence and arousal, whereas those as reported by seniors vary mainly in valence. However, it is unknown to what extent these findings can be replicated using other self-reported emotion measuring tools. This study therefore compared food-evoked emotion profiles of 71 younger adults (mean age 30.8 (years) ± 9.3 (SD)), 86 older normosmic adults (i.e. normal sense of smell, mean age 67.5 (years) ± 5.4 (SD)), and 70 older hyposmic adults (i.e. impaired sense of smell, mean age 68.2 (years) ± 5.9 (SD)). These groups evaluated three types of gingerbread and three types of chocolate using the self-reporting emotion measurement tools PrEmo2 tool and the Affect Grid. In line with previous observations, the self-reported emotion profiles differed between the age groups. The emotion profiles of younger adults varied for both methods along the dimensions valence and arousal, whereas, for the older groups, this valence/arousal differentiation was less clear. The effect of olfactory function was less pronounced, as the older adults with normal and impaired olfactory function had similar emotion profiles. For the PrEmo2 tool specifically, the older adults had generally lower scores for negative emotions compared to the younger adults. Hence, age should be considered an important factor when self-reported food-evoked emotions are being measured in order to develop food products targeted at specific consumer groups.     

Application of multiple-sip temporal dominance of sensations to the evaluation of sweeteners

The dynamic sensory profile of sweeteners is of great importance for the industry during the development of low-calorie products. In the present work the influence of sucrose replacement by low-calorie sweeteners on the dynamic sensory profile of orange juice was evaluated using multiple-sip Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS). Seven orange juices with equivalent sweet concentrations of different sweeteners (sucrose, sucralose, thaumatin, and four samples of stevia) were formulated. A sensory panel of 12 trained assessors evaluated the samples using TDS over three consecutive sips, each lasting 20 s. TDS enabled the identification of differences in the dynamics of the sensory characteristics of the juices formulated with different sweeteners, which had not been identified using static measurements. Considering the dominance of the evaluated sensory characteristics over the three sips, the juice with sucralose showed the most similar sensory characteristics to the juice sweetened with sucrose, providing similar sweetness dominance over time without providing negative sensory characteristics. On the other hand, samples of stevia were characterized by a high dominance of bitterness and off-flavor. The consideration of multiple sips enabled the identification of changes in the temporal profile of the juices with repeated rapid ingestions. Results from the present work suggest that multiple sip TDS seems to be an interesting tool for the evaluation of sweeteners, the design of mixtures of sweeteners and the development of low-calorie products.     

What reported food-evoked emotions may add: A model to predict consumer food choice

Food-evoked emotions provide information that goes beyond the information from traditional hedonic ratings. The objectives of our study were: (i) to investigate how intrinsic (sensory) and extrinsic (packaging) cues affect consumers’ emotional responses to foods, and (ii) to explore whether emotional responses to these cues combined with liking, predict actual food choice. Participants (n = 103) rated emotional responses to seven products under a blind taste, a package and a package and taste condition using the EsSense Profile™. During the blind taste condition participants also scored liking of the products. Test products were breakfast drinks and desserts. Food choice was measured in two different breakfast sessions reflecting a different choice context. In one choice context, products were presented blind to taste, after which participants chose one out of the seven foods to consume for breakfast. In the other choice context, participants based their choice on the package of the seven foods without tasting them. Results showed that emotions evoked by food products could be organised in a two-dimensional space, representing a valence (pleasantness) and an activation/arousal dimension. Specific emotional profiles generated for products differed across the blind taste, package and the package and taste condition, meaning that intrinsic and extrinsic product properties elicit in part different emotions. Liking and valence together had the strongest predictive value for product choice based on the product’s taste. The combination of liking, valence and arousal had the strongest predictive value for package-based choice. In conclusion, food-evoked emotions add predictive value to solely liking ratings, and may guide consumers’ product choice behaviour.     

Visualization of temporal differences between dominant perceptions in temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) and temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA) perceptions using dominance-highlighted TCATA (dTCATA) curves

The temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) method measures dynamic changes of panelists’ attention to the sensory attributes of products. The temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA) method measures all sensory attributes perceived at each moment of an evaluation. However, unlike in TDS, significant levels cannot be calculated in TCATA. This study proposes the use of dominance-highlighted TCATA (dTCATA) curves, which are highlighted TCATA curves that show significant time periods for the TDS data of different panels. Twelve R&D panelists evaluated five commercial corn soups using the TCATA method. Then, 125 consumer panelists evaluated the same products using the TDS method. The dTCATA curves showed TCATA curves for all attributes for each product evaluated by the R&D panel highlighted with the dominance rates identified by the consumer panel in the TDS evaluation. For example, for product 1, some attributes (sweet, viscosity) showed relatively high citation proportions in the TCATA evaluations of the R&D panel and significant dominance rates in the TDS evaluations of the consumer panel. In contrast, consommé flavor showed relatively low citation proportions in TCATA but significant dominance rates in TDS. By merging TDS and TCATA data, we could compare consumers’ dominant sensations with the evaluations of R&D panelists. This comparison could provide useful insights to product developers. In some cases, we observed attributes with significant dominance rates that were under-identified by the R&D panel in TCATA. This could suggest that most of the R&D panel may not have perceived these attributes; therefore, during product development, these attributes should be carefully considered.     

A global study using PANAS (PA and NA) scales to measure consumer emotions associated with aromas of phytonutrient supplements

Phytonutrient supplements are consumed to increase dietary consumption of nutrients. This research addresses the opportunities and the challenges for this product category to better understand consumer choice and consumption in combination with hedonic (liking), sensory, psychographic and emotion measures. One objective of this exploratory study is to use Positive Affect Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to measure consumer (n = 303) emotions associated with 9 different aromas of phytonutrient supplements.A key issue facing emotion research in product development is the proper balance of positive and negative emotions. Traditional clinical emotion questionnaires emphasize negative emotions. Newer emotion questionnaires for commercial use emphasize positive emotions, both in the food and perfume categories. What is the proper balance of positive and negative emotions for a broad range of consumer products? Desmet and Schifferstein (2008) noted the “hedonic asymmetry”, or positive bias, which exists for many product emotions. In contrast to the clinical questionnaires which emphasize negative emotions, and the newer commercial questionnaires which emphasize positive emotions, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) has equal numbers of positive and negative emotions in both the regular and shorter forms.This study supports that the PANAS scales are valid in measurement of consumer emotions evoked by the aromas of phytonutrient supplements. The PANAS scale with 20-items and the short PANAS scale with 10-items are largely consistent in the results. Different phytonutrient product aromas were discriminated on their PANAS emotional profiles, and on both positive (PA) and negative (NA) dimensions. Results suggest that the hedonic, sensory, and emotional attributes represent different dimensions in consumer choice and consumption behaviors.     

Sensory profile,acceptability, and their relationship for diabetic/reduced calorie chocolates

The purpose of this study was to determine the sensory properties and acceptability of lab developed prototypes of conventional, diabetic (with no sugar), and diabetic/reduced calorie milk chocolates (no sugar and 25% calorie reduction) with high-intensity sweeteners, sucralose and stevioside, and partial fat replacement with whey protein concentrate (WPC). PLS was performed in order to relate sensory properties and consumer acceptability and to determine drivers of liking and disliking. There was no difference between conventional, diabetic and diabetic/reduced calorie milk chocolates for brightness, cocoa aroma, cocoa butter aroma, and cocoa flavor (p > 0.05). Acceptability was higher for sucrose substitution by sucralose than by stevioside and partial fat replacement reduced acceptability of flavor even more (p ? 0.05). Crucial attributes which determine consumer acceptability in samples are sweet aroma, melting rate, and sweetness, whereas bitterness, bitter aftertaste, adherence, and sandiness were drivers of disliking.     

Quality Performance,Proximate Composition and Sensory Evaluation of Developed Flavoured Instant Popcorn

Popcorn is a world famous snack food with significant commercial demand. Its market has been continuously growing in Sri Lanka. At the same time, different variety of instant popcorn products should be tested for sensory attributes, proximate composition and quality performance. The flavoured instant products were developed by adding 15%, 25% and 35% butter and butter oil as separately and 0.5 g, 1.0 g and 1.5 g salt respectively for 20 g of raw popcorn grains. 35% butter incorporated popcorn had significantly higher median score for appearance, taste and overall acceptability. There was no any effect of level of salt added. Proximate composition was determined for raw seed, raw popped flakes and flavoured popped flakes. Butter flavoured popped corn flakes were showed higher level for crude fat content and mineral content while lowest content for carbohydrate 16.71%, 2.4% and 64.2% respectively. Kernels were popped using a microwave oven and visually sorted into three different polymorphisms depending on whether the appendages were expanded unilaterally, bilaterally, or multilaterally. The expansion volume before sorting was comparatively lower and it was 10-11cm3/g. When popped, 37.37%, 14.02%, and 33.57% of kernels were expanded unilaterally, bilaterally, and multilaterally, respectively, while 14.2% of kernels remained unpopped. Expansion volumes in respect to flake weight were shown significant differences for unilaterally, bilaterally, and multilaterally expanded polymorphisms of 9.34, 8.86 and 12.29cm3/g, respectively.     

Ethylcellulose solvent substitution method of preparing heat resistant chocolate

In the present study a structuring technique was developed to produce chocolate which resists deformation at temperatures above 40 °C. It was hypothesized that by adding ethylcellulose (EC) solubilized in ethanol (EtOH) to chocolate and evaporating the EtOH an organogel could be formed in situ with the fat phase of the chocolate. Heat resistant chocolate (HRC) was produced by mixing a 20% EC in EtOH solution with molten chocolate. The EtOH was evaporated and the resulting chocolate was incubated at 40 °C for 2 h and tested for hardness. The effect of various EC viscosities (4, 10, 20, 22, and 45 cP) and concentrations ranging from 1.0 to 2.2% on different types of chocolates was studied. Milk chocolate containing 1.9% EC had a hardness of 26.0 N whereas the control chocolate was too soft to be tested. Further experiments revealed that white and dark chocolates had hardnesses of 29.5 and 10.5 N, respectively. The hardness of the chocolate was dependent on the chocolate formulation and concentration of EC, and independent of EC viscosity. It was observed that the addition and evaporation of EtOH from the compound milk chocolate samples led to an increase in the lightness of the chocolate surface if the EtOH was evaporated at temperatures of 40 °C or higher. Addition of EC to chocolate represents a new strategy for the manufacture of HRC. Future work should focus on determining the mechanism by which heat resistance is achieved in these chocolates.     

PANCA: Panel concordance analysis

This paper proposes panel concordance analysis (PANCA) as a tool for panel leaders to identify disconsensus between the panelists on the sensory attributes used. PANCA summarizes the sensory data ([products × panelists × replicates] × attributes) by a low-rank approximation which is penalized for disconsensus (disagreement) between the panelists. When all the panelists agree on the sensory attributes used, the disconsensus penalty will have a negligible effect. However, if the assumption of good consensus is not supported by the data, considerable residual errors will arise. Consequently, PANCA can be used to identify difficult sensory attributes or even poor/deviating panelists which requires further training or could call for an alternative data processing strategy. It is also demonstrated that PANCA can be used to apply a multivariate ANOVA decomposition like in ASCA (ANOVA simultaneous component analysis). Theory and applications are explained by means of a real-life example from industrial sensory practice.     

Sweetener solutions as binding agents for amaranth bars: evolution of temporal dominance of sensory attributes

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of replacing binding agents with commercial low-calorie sweetener solutions on the physicochemical and temporal dominance of sensations in amaranth bars. Five baked amaranth bar formulations (Sweetener-Solution-Formulated Amaranth Bars: SSFABs) were prepared using solutions of erythritol, sucralose, steviol and two sucrose concentrations (50% and 25%). A commercial bar (COMM) was used as a control. Proximal, pH, water activity, texture and colour were measured. Temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) was used to determine dominant attributes in time. In general, SSFABs showed a higher moisture, ash and protein content compared to COMM. Carbohydrates and total crude fat were lower in SSFABs than in COMM. Dominant attributes were Crispy, Dry, Sweet and Amaranth. Erythritol formulation was similar to the commercial bar in terms of maximum dominance rate. Replacement of binding agents impacted on the evolution of dominant attributes in amaranth bars.     

Pleasantness,emotions and perceptions induced by coffee beverage experience depend on the consumption motivation (hedonic or utilitarian)

Motivations to consume a given food or drink differ across consumers. For instance, coffee drinking can be motivated by sensory enjoyment (hedonic motivation) or by stimulation (functional motivation). Today it remains unknown how hedonic vs. utilitarian motivations impact consumer–product interaction. The objective of the present research was to study the impact of both motivations on consumer responses (i.e. pleasantness, emotions, and importance and satisfaction for each of the five senses) during the entire experience of a coffee beverage. Sixty participants drinking coffee beverage either for sensory enjoyment (SENS, n = 30) or to be stimulated (STIM, n = 30) were recruited. Four moments of the product experience were considered: water heating, jar handling, cup preparation and cup drinking. Self-ratings were repeatedly performed by the participants after each moment. SENS participants depicted higher positive emotions than STIM participants and even if similar levels of pleasantness were reached after cup drinking by both groups, levels of pleasantness at water heating and jar handling moments differed. The importance and satisfaction for the different senses also changed according to the participant motivation to drink the coffee beverage. Marketing implications are discussed in terms of communication materials development to more strongly engage consumers with the product.