Effectiveness of Sensory Difference Tests: Sequential Sensitivity Analysis for Liquid Food Stimuli

TLDR

The authors employed Sequential Sensitivity Analysis to predict differences from signal detectabilities and used a warm‑up rapid alternate tasting technique to improve judges’ performance. The study found that triangle test variants and R‑index test order differed in effectiveness for flavored sparkling water but not wine, and that these differences were successfully predicted by SSA, which was extended beyond model systems to food systems.

Abstract

ABSTRACT Versions of the triangle test in which either one or the other stimulus was maintained as the odd one, were found to differ in their effectiveness for a flavored sparkling water system but not for a wine system. The same was found for different orders of presentation of the R‐index sensory difference test. These differences were predicted successfully from the signal detectabilities of the various stimuli using a predictive system called Sequential Sensitivity Analysis (SSA). This extended SSA beyond model systems to food systems. Use was made of a technique of rapid alternate tasting of different stimuli, called ‘warm‐up', to improve judges’ performance.