Temporal Sensory Profiles of Regular and Sodium-Reduced Foods Elicited by Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) and Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA)

Sensory characterisation of meatless and nitrite-free cooked ham alternatives in comparison to conventional counterparts: Temporal dominance of sensations and partial napping with ultra-flash profiling

The cooked ham market is expanding with nitrite-free and meatless alternatives gaining traction as leading trends. An understanding of the attributes that influence the sensory quality of cooked ham is crucial for developing healthier and environmentally sustainable products. The primary aim of this study was to investigate how the removal of nitrites and the use of meatless ingredients affect the sensory characteristics of cooked ham currently available in the Irish market. Sensory evaluation of selected cooked hams (n = 8), including alternatives without nitrites or based on mycoprotein (meatless), was conducted using Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) for in mouth processing and Partial Napping (PN) with Ultra-Flash Profiling (UFP) for the appearance, by a trained sensory panel (n = 9). The nitrite-free cooked ham displayed a similar temporal sensory profile and appearance to the products of the same category, highlighting the opportunity for more nitrite-free products to enter the market. The meatless product was dominated by a "smoky" flavour, which was perceived as "artificial". Meatless ham had a more distinct appearance than the meat-based products and was associated with attributes such as "fake", "artificial colour" and "unappealing". In general, results revealed distinct differences between whole-muscle and sectioned and formed cooked ham products in terms of texture, flavour, and appearance. PN and UFP grouped whole-muscle cooked hams together, which were associated with terms "natural-looking", "better quality" and "healthier", while sectioned and formed cooked hams were perceived as "cheap" and "artificial". The results of this study contribute to a better understanding of the sensory attributes of cooked ham products emphasising the challenges related to novel formulations, and offers valuable insights for the development of healthier and more sustainable meat products within the food industry.

Decoding the Effect of Running on Flavor Perception Changes during Consumption of Sports Drinks

An online survey was conducted to show that most respondents preferred sports drinks with sweet and fruity characteristics. Eleven sports drinks with higher consumers' preferences were further selected for aroma and taste evaluation. Temporal dominance of sensations analysis showed that fruity and fresh attributes were dominant, while sour and fruity sweet were dominant tastes during consumption. β-Damascenone, β-ionone, and linalool contributing to floral perception, γ-decalactone, ethyl cinnamate, and isoamyl acetate contributing to fruity perception, and menthol contributing to fresh perception were confirmed by odor activity value analysis. Running affected the nasal air flow and the saliva secretion, resulting in the flavor perception changing from fruity sweet, sweet, and fruity to sour because the recognition threshold decreased for sweet, fruity, floral, and fresh flavors and increased for saltiness, astringency, and sour tastes.

A consumer evaluation of salt-reduced tomato soup and vegetable juice made with grape pomace

Obesity and obesity-related illness have become an increasingly prevalent problem and there is a critical need to combat this by reducing sugar, salt, and fat consumption. Due to this concern, the food industry has been developing salt-reduced foods, however, these products need to maintain their sensory appeal and flavors, which has proven to be a challenge. Grape pomace (GP), the solids left after pressing grapes for winemaking and consisting of grape seeds and skins, has been proposed as an environmentally friendly solution that can enhance the acceptability of salt-reduced food products. However, GP is associated with a large number of flavor compounds. As such, the objective of this research is to investigate the acceptability of GP addition in salt-reduced foods. Two trials were conducted using hedonic scales and temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA) to evaluate tomato soup (n = 88) and vegetable juice (n = 99). Each trial included a control and sample containing grape pomace. The addition of the GP decreased the consumers' overall liking and the liking of the flavor, as well as increasing consumers' perception of saltiness intensity. The samples made with GP were associated with bitterness, sourness, and wine flavor during the TCATA evaluations. The study identified that GP increased saltiness perception, however, it also adds other flavors to the food product, which decreased the acceptability of the food items. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: There is a consumer demand to create salt-reduced foods that do not have altered sensory properties. Furthermore, consumers are interested in sustainable and environmentally friendly ingredients. Grape pomace is a byproduct of the wine industry and has been proposed as an ingredient that can increase the saltiness perception of food products. Grape pomace was added to tomato soup and vegetable juice to evaluate its effect on consumer acceptability and saltiness perception. The grape pomace did increase saltiness perception, but also added bitterness, sourness, and wine flavor to the food products.

Multi-attribute temporal descriptive methods in sensory analysis applied in food science: A systematic scoping review

Among descriptive sensory evaluation methods, temporal methods have a wide audience in food science because they make it possible to follow perception as close as possible to the moment when sensations are perceived. The aim of this work was to describe 30 years of research involving temporal methods by mapping the scientific literature using a systematic scoping review. Thus, 363 research articles found from a search in Scopus and Web of Science from 1991 to 2022 were included. The extracted data included information on the implementation of studies referring to the use of temporal methods (details related to subjects, products, descriptors, research design, data analysis, etc.), reasons why they were used and the conclusions they allowed to be drawn. Metadata analysis and critical appraisal were also carried out. A quantitative and qualitative synthesis of the results allowed the identification of trends in the way in which the methods were developed, refined, and disseminated. Overall, a large heterogeneity was noted in the way in which the temporal measurements were carried out and the results presented. Some critical research gaps in establishing the validity and reliability of temporal methods have also been identified. They were mostly related to the details of implementation of the methods (e.g., almost no justification for the number of consumers included in the studies, absence of report on panel repeatability) and data analysis (e.g., prevalence of use of exploratory data analysis, only 20% of studies using confirmatory analyses considering the dynamic nature of the data). These results suggest the need for general guidelines on how to implement the method, analyze and interpret data, and report the results. Thus, a template and checklist for reporting data and results were proposed to help increase the quality of future research.

Influence of fat reduction and flavor addition on the temporal sensory profile in potato chips using a multiple-intake approach

BACKGROUND

Reducing the fat content of potato chips can negatively affect the overall perception of taste and texture. However, incorporating flavor can help mitigate negative effects. To measure and understand these changes, a technique describing the consumption experience must be used. The impact of low fat content and the presence of ham flavor in the formulation of potato chips was studied in relation to the dynamics of sensations perceived during consumption and, additionally, related to the hedonic aspects of these products.

RESULTS

Three different varieties of commercially available potato chips, classical salted potato chips (PC-C), light (low fat content) potato chips (PC-L), and ham-flavored potato chips (PC-H), were analyzed by multiple-intake temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) sessions, showing the differences among PC-C, PC-L, and PC-H. Moreover, acceptability and purchase intention were also considered. The results showed that the lower fat content in the potato chips had a great impact on temporal dominance of texture attributes, whereas the presence of ham flavor in the formulation greatly modified the temporal dominance of flavor sensations during consumption with no effect on acceptability.

CONCLUSION

Multiple intake TDS is a suitable method for revealing how modifications of formulation and composition of potato chips to achieve healthier or different versions affects consumers dynamic sensory perception and how it is related to preferences. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Effect of Piperine on Saltiness Perception

Chemical irritants, like piperine, have the potential to increase human perception of tastes and odours, including saltiness. This cross-modal interaction could help the food industry develop new salt-reduced food products that maintain their salty taste. The objective of this study was: firstly, to determine the detection threshold of piperine (n = 72), secondly to evaluate piperine's influence on saltiness perception in model solutions (n = 78), and lastly to identify piperine's effect on sensory perception of low sodium soup using temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA; n = 75). The group mean of the individual threshold was 0.55 ± 0.15 ppm. Piperine increased the saltiness perception of the model solutions, but it also increased the bitterness and decreased the sweetness of the solutions. The piperine significantly increased the saltiness intensity of the soups (evaluated using a generalized labelled magnitude), but during the TCATA task, the salty attribute was selected less for the soup with piperine than the control (based on the average proportion of selection). The TCATA indicated that the peppery attribute dominated the participants' perception of the soup with piperine. More studies are needed to assess piperine's cross-modal interactions.

Linking Temporal Dominance of Sensations for Primary-Sensory and Multi-Sensory Attributes Using Canonical Correlation Analysis

Sensory responses dynamically change while eating foods. Temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) methods record temporal evolution and have attracted attention in the last decade. ISO 13299 recommends that different levels of attributes are investigated in separate TDS trials. However, only a few studies have attempted to link the dynamics of two different levels of sensory attributes. We propose a method to link the concurrent values of dominance proportions for primary- and multi-sensory attributes using canonical correlation analysis. First, panels categorized several attributes into primary- and multi-sensory attributes. Primary-sensory attributes included sweet, sour, fruity, green, watery, juicy, aromatic, and light. Multi-sensory attributes included refreshing, fresh, pleasurable, rich/deep, ripe, and mild. We applied the TDS methods to strawberries using these two categories of attributes. The obtained canonical correlation model reasonably represented the relationship between the sensations in a reductive manner using five latent variables. The latent variables couple multiple primary- and multi-sensory responses that covary. Hence, the latent variables suggest key components to comprehend food intake experiences. We further compared the model based on the dominance proportions and the time-derivatives of the dominance proportions. We found that the former model was better in terms of the ease of interpreting the canonical variables and the degree to which the canonical variables explain the dominance proportions. Thus, these models help understand and leverage the sensory values of food products.