Sensory analysis (or sensory evaluation) is a
scientific
Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...
discipline that applies principles of
experimental design
The design of experiments (DOE, DOX, or experimental design) is the design of any task that aims to describe and explain the variation of information under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the variation. The term is generally associ ...
and
statistical analysis
Statistical inference is the process of using data analysis to infer properties of an underlying distribution of probability.Upton, G., Cook, I. (2008) ''Oxford Dictionary of Statistics'', OUP. . Inferential statistical analysis infers propertie ...
to the use of human
sense
A sense is a biological system used by an organism for sensation, the process of gathering information about the world through the detection of stimuli. (For example, in the human body, the brain which is part of the central nervous system re ...
s (
sight,
smell,
taste
The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...
,
touch
In physiology, the somatosensory system is the network of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of touch ( haptic perception), as well as temperature ( thermoception), body position (proprioception), and pain. It ...
and
hearing
Hearing, or auditory perception, is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as an ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. The academic field concerned with hearing is audit ...
) for the purposes of evaluating consumer products. The discipline requires panels of human assessors, on whom the products are tested, and recording the responses made by them. By applying statistical techniques to the results it is possible to make
inferences and
insights about the products under test. Most large consumer goods companies have departments dedicated to sensory analysis.
Sensory analysis can mainly be broken down into three sub-sections:
* Analytical testing (dealing with objective facts about products)
* Affective testing (dealing with subjective facts such as preferences)
* Perception (the biochemical and psychological aspects of sensation)
Analytical testing
This type of testing is concerned with obtaining ''objective facts'' about products. This could range from basic
discrimination testing (e.g. Do two or more products differ from each other?) to
descriptive analysis (e.g. What are the characteristics of two or more products?). The type of panel required for this type of testing would normally be a trained panel.
There are several types of sensory tests. The most classic is the sensory profile. In this test, each taster describes each product by means of a questionnaire. The questionnaire includes a list of descriptors (e.g., bitterness, acidity, etc.). The taster rates each descriptor for each product depending on the intensity of the descriptor he perceives in the product (e.g., 0 = very weak to 10 = very strong). In the method of
Free choice profiling, each taster builds his own questionnaire.
Another family of methods is known as ''holistic'' as they are focused on the overall appearance of the product. This is the case of the categorization and the
napping.
Affective testing
Also known as ''consumer testing'', this type of testing is concerned with obtaining ''subjective'' data, or how well products are likely to be accepted. Usually large (50 or more) panels of untrained personnel are recruited for this type of testing, although smaller
focus groups can be utilised to gain insights into products. The range of testing can vary from simple comparative testing (e.g. Which do you prefer, A or B?) to structured questioning regarding the magnitude of acceptance of individual characteristics (e.g. Please rate the "fruity aroma": dislike, neither, like).
See also
*
European Sensory Network
*
Food Quality and Preference
*
Journal of Sensory Studies
*
Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium
Notes and references
Bibliography
* ASTM MNL14 The Role of Sensory Analysis in Quality Control, 1992
* ISO 16820 Sensory Analysis - Methodology - Sequential Analysis
* ISO 5495 Sensory Analysis - Methodology - Paired Comparisons
* ISO 13302 Sensory Analysis - Methods for assessing modifications to the flavour of foodstuffs due to packaging
* Sensory Evaluation Techniques- Morten C. Meilgaard, Gail Vance Civille, B. Thomas Carr - 4th edition, 2007
External links
ISO 67.240 - Sensory analysis- A series of ISO standards
Sensory evaluation practice Herbert Stone, Joel L. Sidel
{{Authority control
Product testing
Psychophysics