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Food neophobia, i.e., the aversion to novel foods, and olfaction are both factors strongly affecting food choices. Mounting evidence suggests a higher arousal towards food as a key factor underlying the reluctance to eat what is unfamiliar to us. As the role of olfaction behind this phenomenon is poorly understood, we explored the associations between food neophobia and trait anxiety, olfactory functions (odor threshold, discrimination and identification) and retronasal aroma release from a reference food in a healthy cohort of 83 adult volunteers. We grouped participants in Low-Neophobics or neophilics (n = 35), Medium-Neophobics (n = 32) and High-Neophobics (n = 16) according to the widely recognized Food Neophobia Scale. Participants with higher neophobic tendencies were found to have marginally higher trait anxiety levels than neophilics (p = 0.10). A lower global olfactory functioning and odor discrimination abilities characterized High-Neophobics, while Medium-Neophobics showed a higher odor sensitiveness than Low-Neophobics. Lastly, High-Neophobics showed a lower extent of retronasal aroma release, likely due to a shorter duration of oral processing and higher anxiety-related physiological responses (such as breathing rate). In summary, this study supports the assumption that the conflicting relationship that neophobics have with food may be led by higher levels of arousal toward foods, rather than different chemosensory functions.

Purpose Loss of smell decreases the quality of life and contributes to the failure in recognizing hazardous substances. Given the relevance of olfaction in daily life, it is important to recognize an undiagnosed olfactory dysfunction to prevent these possible complications. Up to now, the prevalence of smell disorders in Italy is unknown due to a lack of epidemiological studies. Hence, the primary aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in a sample of Italian adults. Methods Six hundred and thirty-three participants (347 woman and 286 men; mean age 44.9 years, SD 17.3, age range 18–86) were recruited from 10 distinct Italian regions. Participants were recruited using a convenience sapling and were divided into six different age groups: 18–29 years (N = 157), 30–39 years (N = 129), 40–49 years (N = 99), 50–59 years (N = 106), > 60 years (N = 142). Olfactory function, cognitive abilities, cognitive reserve, and depression were assessed, respectively, with: Sniffin’ Sticks 16-item Odor Identification Test, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Cognitive Reserve Index, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Additionally, socio-demographic data, medical history, and health-related lifestyle information were collected. Results About 27% of participants showed an odor identification score Conclusion This study provides data on the prevalence of olfactory dysfunction in different Italian regions.

Trentingrana hard cheese is a geographic specification of the PDO Grana Padano. It is produced according to an internal regulation by many cooperative dairy factories in the Trentino region (northern Italy), using a semi-artisanal process (the only allowed ingredients are milk, salt, and rennet). Within the PSR project TRENTINGRANA, colorimetric and textural measurements have been collected from 317 cheese wheels, which were sampled bi-monthly from all the consortium dairies (n = 15) within the timeframe of two years, to estimate the effect on physical properties related to the season of the year and the dairy factory implant. To estimate the effect of the dairy and the time of the year, considering the internal variability of each cheese wheel, a linear mixed-effect model combined with a simultaneous component analysis (LMM-ASCA) is proposed. Results show that all the factors have a significant effect on the colorimetric and textural properties of the cheese. There are five clusters of dairies producing cheese with similar properties, three different couples of months of the year when the cheese produced is significantly different from all the others, and the effect of the geometry of the cheese wheel is reported as well.

Polyphenol-related sensations (PRS) in extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), i.e. bitterness, pungency and astringency, are often identified by consumers as negative drivers of preference. A deep comprehension of how these sensations interact is a fundamental step to better understand consumers’ preferences toward EVOO. Perception of PRS proved to be variable on an individual basis, but studies that involve the EVOO matrix and that consider the whole consumption experience are lacking. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore the variability in PRS perception in EVOO and to evaluate the impact of this perceptual variability on flavor perception over time. For this study, 11 Italian EVOOs were initially considered as well representative of the expected variability in terms of olive tree cultivars and areas of production. Projective Mapping followed by Ultra-Flash Profile were used to get the six EVOOs that formed the most diverse subset with respect to PRS. A panel of 19 assessors (9 females) was characterized for the perception of bitterness, astringency and pungency through intensity evaluation of water solutions with five levels of increasing concentration of the solute related to a specific PRS, independently for each oral sensation. PRS perception responses were used to split the panel into two groups, one with a higher level of perception to PRS (HP-PRS) and one with a lower level of perception to PRS (LP-PRS). After training on EVOO descriptors, both groups evaluated the samples dynamically and in triplicate, using Temporal Check-All-That-Apply methodology. Differences in PRS perception were confirmed in EVOO samples and were shown to impact flavor perception over time. Pungency and astringency were the major modulators of the temporal flavor perception, whereas bitterness had a negligible role. The findings in this study are a contribution to improve the understanding of dynamics of perception in EVOO and provided insights that may be helpful to promote EVOO sensory evaluation.

The Mediterranean diet (MD) is associated with many health benefits. The association between the MD and food neophobia (FN) is still unexplored in adults. The present cross-sectional study was aimed to explore the relationships between adherence to the MD, FN, and sociodemographic variables in a large Italian cohort. Familiarity and frequency use (FFI) of prototypical and non-prototypical Mediterranean foods were used to calculate a new adherence index: the Italian Taste Mediterranean Index (ITMI). The FFI of all Mediterranean foods increased with age, while butter, soft drinks, red/cured meat, and sweets were more common in younger people. Accordingly, ITMI increased with age (F2,2384 = 54.11, p &lt, 0.0001). Women recorded a higher ITMI (6.70) than men (6.10). Individuals with high FN showed higher FFI for soft drinks and sweets and lower ones for most typical MD foods, than individuals with low FNs. A decrease of ITMI was recorded with the increase of the FN(F2,2384 = 22.84, 0.0001). With ageing, ITMI increased even in individuals with a high FN. The results suggest that FN may negatively affect adherence to the MD, lowering its potential health benefits, in the adult population. Monitoring of food habits, dietary education, and anxiety management, may be valuable tools to control FN and support the adherence to the MD.

The study, part of the larger Italian Taste project, was aimed at exploring the role of personality traits and taste responsiveness on liking and choice of pungent foods. Data of 1146 subjects (61% females, aged 18–60) were analysed. Subjects were characterised for demographics, taste functions (responsiveness to PROP and fungiform papillae density), and personality traits: sensitivity to reward (SR), to punishment (SP) and to disgust (SD), private body consciousness (PBC), alexithymia (TAS) and food neophobia (FN). They evaluated capsaicin and other tastants in solutions, then evaluated liking and perceived intensity (burning, acid, sweet and overall flavour) in a series of four samples of tomato juice, each spiked with capsaicin at a different concentration (0.3; 0.68; 1.01; 1.52 mg/kg). A choice index for pungent food was calculated as a sum of the choices of the spicy option using a questionnaire developed to evaluate preferences within a pair of food items (pungent vs non pungent option). Males and females differed for frequency of chili consumption and were studied separately. Age was not associated with frequency of chili consumption. Responsiveness to PROP was found to be positively correlated to perceived burn intensity. Results from ANOVA models showed that High SR, Low FN, Low DS (both males and females) and Low SP (males) liked significantly more the burning samples. Low FN and DS (in both genders), low SP (in females) perceived lower burning, and overall flavour intensities, while this was not observed in High SR. PLS regression models were used to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that affect pungent food choice. Choice was positively correlated with liking, and negatively with burning intensity, FN and DS. In addition, choice was negatively correlated with SP in females and positively with SR in males. Our results confirmed that many factors interplay in spicy food liking and choice and highlighted the role played by different personality traits in females and males. It was also reported that for same traits an effect on liking of pungency is associated with a lower perceived intensity of burning and overall flavour, while for other traits only an effect on liking was observed.

The purpose of the current study, was to apply and validate the factor structure of the Health and Taste Attitude Scales in an Italian adult sample of 1224 subjects, recruited on a national basis in order to characterise consumers’ food-related attitudes with weak and strong connotations of health and taste. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to evaluate the factor structure of the three sub-scales of Health (General health interest, Light product interest, Natural product interest) and three sub-scales of Taste (Craving for sweet foods, Using foods as a reward, Pleasure). Results showed that the internal structure was similar to the theoretical proposal, with two exceptions for the Taste scale. The Pleasure sub-scale presented strong problematic loadings and consequently was removed from the model. The Craving for sweet foods sub-scale was split into two new underlying constructs describing attitudes towards craving for sweet food based on their own experience and attitudes towards other-people’s craving. The three Health sub-scales were used as a basis for the derivation of consumers clusters. Three groups of subjects with different interest in food-related health (Low, Medium, and High Interest) were identified. This segmentation confirmed an association between positive attitudes towards health and liking and familiarity with selected food groups. People more convenience-oriented and less interested in product information and food quality had higher probability to have a lower interest in food-related health. Subjects with higher positive attitudes towards using foods as a reward had a higher probability to belong to the cluster with lower interest in food-related health.

The consumption of phenol-rich foods is limited by their prominent bitterness and astringency. This issue has been addressed by adding sweet tastes, which suppress bitterness, but this is not a complete solution since individuals also differ in their preference for sweetness. In this study, we aimed at identifying groups of consumers differing in sweetness optima and sensory-liking patterns. To this end, increasing concentrations of sucrose were added to a chocolate pudding base. This allowed us to (1) investigate if individual differences in sensory responses are associated with different sweet liking optima in a product context, (2) define the psychological and oro-sensory profile of sweet liker phenotypes derived using a product context, and (3) assess if individuals differing in sweet liking optima differ also in consumption and liking of phenol-rich foods and beverages as a function of their sensory properties (e.g., sweeter vs. more bitter and astringent products). Individuals (1208, 58.4% women, 18–69 years) were characterised for demographics, responsiveness to 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP), personality traits and attitudes toward foods. Three clusters were identified based on correlations between sensory responses (sweetness, bitterness and astringency) and liking of the samples: liking was positively related to sweetness and negatively to bitterness and astringency in High and Moderate Sweet Likers, and the opposite in Inverted U-Shaped. Differences between clusters were found in age, gender and personality. Furthermore, the Inverted-U Shaped cluster was found to have overall healthier food behaviours and preferences, with higher liking and consumption of phenol-rich vegetables and beverages without added sugar. These findings point out the importance of identifying the individual sensory-liking patterns in order to develop more effective strategies to promote the acceptability of healthy phenol-rich foods.

This paper aims to explore the impact of “mountain pasture product” information on the acceptability of local protected designation of origin (PDO) cheese produced from the raw milk of cows grazing in mountain pastures (P) or reared in valley floor stalls (S). A total of 156 consumers (55% males, mean age 41 years) were asked to evaluate their overall liking on a 9-point hedonic scale of four samples: Cheeses P and S were presented twice with different information about the origin of the milk (cows grazing on mountain pasture or reared in a valley floor stall). Demographics, consumer habits, and opinions on mountain pasture practice (MPP), attitudes towards sustainability, and food-related behaviours (i.e., diet, food waste production, organic food, and zero food miles products purchase) were recorded and used to segment consumers. The cheeses were all considered more than acceptable, even though they were found to be significantly different in colour and texture by instrumental analyses. In the whole consumer panel, the cheese P was preferred, while in consumer segments less attentive to product characteristics, this effect was not significant. External information had a strong effect: Overall liking was significantly higher in cheeses presented as “mountain pasture product”, both in the whole panel and in consumer segments with different attitudes (except for those with a low opinion of MPP).

This article presents a discussion of principal components analysis of descriptive sensory data. Focus is on standardization, many correlated variables, validation, and the use of descriptive data in preference mapping. Different ways of performing the analysis are presented and discussed with focus on how to obtain informative and reliable results. The results will be commented on in light of experience. All methods will be illustrated by calculations based on real data. The article ends with a list of suggestions for all the topics covered. Practical Application The article is about using principal components analysis (PCA) in sensory science. The applicability of the methods and ideas presented in this article are relevant for all types of descriptive sensory data. The ideas are general and comprise areas such as standardization, validation, and many correlated variables. The target group of readers for the article is the sensory scientist who uses PCA on a daily basis and who may have questions regarding how to use the method the best possible way.

Background: Texture is important in the preferences of apple consumers. Of the pre-harvest factors affecting fruit quality and especially texture, altitude and subsequent climatic conditions are crucial, determining differences in the physiological mechanisms of fruit growth, ripening stage and chemical composition, as demonstrated by several studies. This work applies a detailed sensory-instrumental protocol developed in a previous paper to investigate the impact of altitude, time of harvest and their cross-effect on sensory characteristics of apple, with a focus on texture.; Results: Sensory differences were found in relation to altitude, although the profile results were mainly affected by the time of harvest. Fruit from lower altitude was described as juicier, crunchier and sweeter than samples from higher altitude, which were floury, sourer and more astringent. Texture performance, soluble solids content and titratable acidity corroborated this sensory description. Moreover, anatomical data showed that fruit from lower altitude had a larger volume, a higher number of cells and a higher percentage of intercellular spaces.; Conclusion: We demonstrated that differences between fruit from various altitudes can be perceived through human senses, and that the proposed sensory-instrumental tool can be used to describe such differences. This study brings more understanding about the impact of altitude and time of harvest on apple sensory properties. This work could support apple producers, from semi-mountainous regions (Alps, Tyrol, etc.), in advertising and valorising their products with their specific characteristics in a more efficient manner. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.; © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Plant phenolics are powerful antioxidants and free radical scavengers that can contribute to the healthy functional properties of plant-based food and beverages. Thus, dietary behaviours rich in plant-based food and beverages are encouraged. However, it is well-known that the bitter taste and other low-appealing sensory properties that characterize vegetables and some other plant-based foods act as an innate barrier for their acceptance. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of psychological traits and PROP status (the responsiveness to bitter taste of 6-n- propylthiouracil) on the choice of and familiarity with phenol-rich vegetables and beverages varying in recalled level of bitterness and astringency. Study 1 aimed at assessing the variations of the sensory properties of vegetable and coffee/tea items with two check-all-that-apply (CATA) questionnaires (n = 201 and n = 188 individuals, respectively). Study 2 aimed at investigating how sensitivity to punishment, to reward, and to disgust, food neophobia, private body consciousness, alexithymia, and PROP responsiveness affect choice and familiarity with phenol-rich foods (n = 1200 individuals). A Choice Index was calculated for vegetables (CV) and coffee/tea (CC) as a mean of the choices of the more bitter/astringent option of the pairs and four Familiarity Indices were computed for vegetables (FV) and coffee/tea (FC), higher (+) or lower (-) in bitterness and astringency. Subjects higher in food neophobia, sensitivity to punishment or sensitivity to disgust reported significantly lower choice indices than individuals lower in these traits, meaning that they systematically opted for the least bitter/astringent option within the pairs. Familiarity with vegetables was lower in individuals high in sensitivity to punishment, in food neophobia and in alexithymia, irrespective of their sensory properties. The Familiarity Index with coffee/tea characterized by higher bitterness and astringency was lower in individuals high in food neophobia, sensitivity to disgust, and alexithymia. No significant effect of PROP was found on any indices. The proposed approach based on product grouping according to differences in bitterness and astringency allowed the investigation of the role of individual differences in chemosensory perception and of psychological traits as modulators of phenol-rich foods preference and consumption.

In this paper, the influence of flavour modification, artificially induced, on consumer acceptability of apple fruit is studied. The method consists of modifying the flavour of a real food matrix dipping apples into flavour solutions. Two flavouring compounds (linalool and anethole) that were responsible of &ldquo, floral&rdquo, and &ldquo, anise&rdquo, aroma descriptors, respectively, were considered here. The effectiveness of flavouring treatments was confirmed by instrumental analysis of volatile compounds profile using solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-MS) and by discriminative and descriptive sensory analyses. The effect of flavour-impact was evaluated in an informed test on the two flavoured &lsquo, Fuji&rsquo, apples: the consumers were asked to evaluate the global liking of the treated and non-treated apples with information regarding the aromatic features. Participants&rsquo, additional data on the characteristics on their &ldquo, ideal apple&rdquo, attitudes toward natural food, food neophobia, and demographic data were also recorded by specific questionnaires. A statistically significant effect on liking was found for the flavour factor, whereas external information only affected apple acceptance for subgroups of consumers, depending on their attitude towards food.

A combined approach for perceptible quality profiling of apples based on sensory and instrumental techniques was developed. This work studied the correlation between sensory and instrumental data, and defined proper models for predicting sensory properties through instrumental measurements. Descriptive sensory analysis performed by a trained panel was carried out during two consecutive years, on a total of 27 apple cultivars assessed after two months postharvest storage. The 11 attributes included in the sensory vocabulary discriminated among the different apple cultivars by describing their sensory properties. Simultaneous instrumental profiling including colorimeter, texture analyser (measuring mechanical and acoustic parameters) and basic chemical measurements, provided a description of the cultivars consistent with the sensory profiles. Regression analyses showed effective predictive models for all sensory attributes (Q2 ≥ 0.8), except for green flesh colour and astringency, that were less effective (Q2 = 0.5 for both). Interesting relationships were found between taste perception and flesh appearance, and the combination of chemical and colorimeter data led to the development of an effective prediction model for sweet taste. Thus, the innovative sensory-instrumental tool described here can be proposed for the reliable prediction of apple sensory properties.

Apple fruit quality is strongly influenced by the interplay between juiciness and texture. To better decipher the complexity underneath the control of such quality traits, a multidisciplinary approach combining the mechanic and acoustic profiling of texture, juice analysis, cell morphology, sensory and genetic analysis was carried out. The analyses were conducted after 1.5 months of cold storage on fourteen accessions employed in novel breeding schemes for texture and juiciness. The food matrix structure was exploited focusing on both the cell morphology (employing an optical microscope) and the intercellular space (using an X-ray computed micro-tomography scanner). The mechanical and acoustic properties of texture were profiled with a texture analyser, while the juice was extracted using a mechanical press. In parallel to the analytical assessments, fruit texture, juiciness and flavour were also evaluated by sensory analysis. The results highlighted a positive correlation between cell shape and the intercellular volume. Apple accessions distinguished by round cells were characterized by a reduced intercellular space, while cell with an angular cell shape had a higher intercellular space. While the cell shape was associated with juiciness, the firmness response was more influenced by cell size. The interplay between cellular morphology and juiciness was also investigated together with the allelotype variability of a genetic marker designed for MdPG1, a polygalacturonase gene known to control the regulation of fruit texture in apple. The highest juiciness was found in apples with both a high fraction of round cells and the presence of the MdPG1 allele associated with low softening rates. The elucidation of the role of cellular morphology in the control of fruit texture and juiciness, and their association with the MdPG1 alleles, provided valuable information for a more detailed and informative analysis of fruit quality, enabling a more precise characterization and selection of superior apple accessions.

The aim of the present study is to explore the association between food neophobia and chemosensory responsiveness and to determine whether this association translates into different food liking and preference patterns. Data were collected on 1225 respondents (61% females, age 20–60 years) as part of the Italian Taste project. Respondents completed the Food Neophobia Scale (FNS) as well as a food preference and familiarity questionnaire for a number of foods and beverages categorized as mild or strong tasting. Moreover, they evaluated attribute intensity and liking of an actual food (dark chocolate pudding) varying in the level of sweetness, bitterness and astringency. Taste function was evaluated by measuring fungiform papillae density (FPD), responsiveness to PROP (6-n-propylthiouracil) and to water solutions representing various oro-sensory qualities. High, medium and low neophobic subjects did not differ for FPD and chemosensory responsiveness. Reported liking was significantly lower for high neophobics than low neophobics mainly for those vegetables and beverages characterized by high levels of warning stimuli (i.e. bitterness, sourness, astringency and alcohol), whereas almost no differences were found for the bland versions of food items. High and medium neophobics rated astringency and, to a lesser extent, bitterness of the dark chocolate pudding, as more intense than low neophobics and liked the most bitter and astringent variants significantly less than low neophobics. Differences in liking, however, do not seem to be mediated by high food neophobics’ superior taste functioning but rather by higher levels of arousal when eating food and/or drinking beverages that are perceived as unpleasant and potentially dangerous. Finally, the effect of food neophobia was evident not only for unusual items in the Italian food context, but even for items that might be considered highly familiar.

Coconut water is a tropical beverage with a distinctive odor and flavor that has until now not been adequately characterized. In the present paper, the volatile compound composition of coconut water was investigated using head space solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). Analyses were made of fresh untreated (FU) samples and samples pasteurized using two different technologies: conventional thermal treatment (thermal pasteurization (TP)) and high-pressure carbon dioxide (HPCD) pasteurization, which has recently attracted great interest as an innovative nonthermal preservation treatment. Seventy-three volatile compounds were identified; 27 of them reported for the first time in coconut water. The results showed that HPCD treatment depletes short- and medium-chain alcohols, while TP treatment triggers an increase in aldehydes, ketones, and 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, an aroma compound active at low odor thresholds and characterized by “popcorn” and “toasted” odor descriptors. Sensory discrimination analysis (triangle test) showed there to be no significant differences between HPCD and FU samples, while TP and FU samples were perceived significantly differently. Descriptive sensory analyses evidenced more intense “cooked,” “toasted bread,” and “hazelnut” characteristics in TP-treated coconut water, consistent with HS-SPME-GC-MS data. In conclusion, instrumentally measurable changes in volatile compounds were more moderate with HPCD than with TP treatment and were not sensorially perceivable compared with the FU product.

The main objective of this work was to study whether the intensity of intrinsic sensory attributes and different information about fibre and antioxidant content (extrinsic attributes) provided immediately before tasting could affect the acceptability of four apple varieties characterised by two levels of crunchiness and sweetness. The tested products (Fuji, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, and Reinette du Canada) were selected on the basis of the results of the quantitative descriptive analysis performed on 21 commercially available varieties. A panel of 346 consumers was asked to rate the overall liking of the selected cultivars, which were presented in duplicate with different information about fibres and antioxidants content using a fractional factorial design. A preliminary test was performed on 226 consumers to measure the acceptability without the effect of such information. Demographic data, fruit consumption data, and the importance of health aspects in nutrition were also collected by means of a questionnaire. Significant effects were found for the sensory factors: overall liking was positively influenced by high levels of crunchiness and sweetness. Information about the nutritional content affected apple acceptance only for some consumer groups depending on their attitudes towards healthy food. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of conjoint analysis integrated with tasting in the case of fresh unprocessed product. Moreover, the proposed approach provides to Italian apple producers/distributors a better understanding of the relative importance consumers give to sensory attributes and nutritional information in order to support consumer-led breeding selections.

High Pressure Carbon Dioxide (HPCD) treatment was applied to the pasteurization of coconut water in order to guarantee both its microbial stability and preserve its nutritional and sensory attributes. It was demonstrated that 120 bar, 40 °C, 30 min were the optimal process conditions to induce a 5 Log(CFU/ml) reduction of mesophilic microorganisms, lactic acid bacteria, yeasts and molds and a 7 Log reduction of the total coliforms. The effect of HPCD on the quality traits of coconut water were investigated by means of physical–chemical and sensory analyses and compared to the Heat Pasteurized (HP, 90 °C, 1 min) and Fresh Untreated (FU) product. No differences in the basic chemical composition, vitamins and amino acids, were detected between HPCD and FU products. However, differences in the volatile compounds present in the three products were clearly distinguishable; HPCD resulted in a reduction of most of the volatile fractions while HP induced the formation of compounds with a toasted and malty aroma. Nevertheless, few sensory differences were perceived between the FU and the HPCD coconut water, and both were clearly differentiated from the HP product.

Sweetness is one of the main drivers of consumer preference, and thus is given high priority in apple breeding programmes. Due to the complexity of sweetness evaluation, soluble solid content (SSC) is commonly used as an estimation of this trait. Nevertheless, it has been demonstrated that SSC and sweet taste are poorly correlated. Though individual sugar content may vary greatly between and within apple cultivars, no previous study has tried to investigate the relationship between the amount of individual sugars, or ratios of these, and apple sweetness. In this work, we quantified the major sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose, xylose) and sorbitol and explored their influence on perceived sweetness in apple; we also related this to malic acid content, SSC and volatile compounds. Our data confirmed that the correlation between sweetness and SSC is weak. We found that sorbitol content correlates (similarly to SSC) with perceived sweetness better than any other single sugar or total sugar content. The single sugars show no differentiable importance in determining apple sweetness. Our predictive model based on partial least squares regression shows that after sorbitol and SSC, the most important contribution to apple sweetness is provided by several volatile compounds, mainly esters and farnesene.

Food choice is influenced by many interacting factors in humans. Its multidimensional and complex nature is well recognized, particularly within the sensory and consumer food science field. However, the vast majority of the studies aimed at understanding determinants of food choices, preferences, and eating behaviours are affected by important limitations: the limited number of factors that are considered at once and the sample size. Furthermore, sensory and hedonic responses to actual food stimuli are often not included in such studies. The Italian Taste project is a large-scale study (three thousand respondents in three years) launched by the Italian Sensory Science Society aimed at addressing these limitations by exploring the associations among a variety of measures – biological, genetic, physiological, psychological and personality-related, socio-cultural – describing the dimensions of food liking, preference, behaviour and choice, and their relevance in determining individual differences within a given food culture framework. In addition, the study includes also the collection of sensory and hedonic responses to actual food stimuli commonly consumed in Italy and prepared to elicit a variation in the strength (from weak to strong) of bitterness, sweetness, saltiness, sourness, pungency, umami and astringency. The aims of the present paper are twofold. Firstly, the paper is aimed to illustrate the variables selected to explore the different dimensions of food choice and to report the experimental procedure adopted for data collection. Secondly, the paper is aimed at showing the potential of the Italian Taste dataset on the basis of the data collected in the first year of the project. For the purpose, we selected a small number of variables known to influence food choices from data collected in the first year of the project on 1225 individuals.

To date very little research has been done on sensory interaction taking into account the temporal component. The objectives of this work were to better understand the influence of aroma perception on taste and texture perception in a real food matrix such as the apple, considering sensory perception both as a static and dynamic process. Another objective was to evaluate the suitability of Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS) for studying sensory interaction. A set of 9 apple samples, made up of apple discs modified with two distinct aromas (3-methylbutyl acetate and (E)-3-hexen-1-ol) and/or two tastants (fructose and dl -malic acid), was used for the experiment. Samples were analysed by Descriptive Analysis (DA) and TDS performed by two different panels. Samples were also analysed using instrumental measurement of texture, sugar and volatile content. Aroma addition modified perception of the apple in both a static and dynamic way. Some texture-aroma and taste-aroma interaction were highlighted. TDS showed that both aromas made perception of hardness and juiciness less dominant. In some cases, banana aroma modified sweet taste perception and when used without tastants, it tended to anticipate sweetness perception in time. DA evidenced different results: both aromas decreased crunchiness or flouriness intensities when used alone or with fructose respectively. They increased juiciness intensity when combined with malic acid. TDS confirmed well-known relations between taste and smell and showed its appropriateness for studying sensory interaction. Its combination with DA gathered complementary points of view enriching the analysis and revealing unexpected or time-related interaction, a new perspective for understanding the phenomena linked to perception.

More than other characteristics, the sensory properties of fruit and vegetables, mainly related to texture aspects, are the most important drivers of consumer preferences. In this work, the development, evaluation and application of a sensory characterisation method is presented for 21 apple ( Malus × domestica Borkh.) varieties, which were stored for 2 months in cold storage. Furthermore, the change of the sensory profiles was evaluated after 1, 2 and 4 months postharvest storage. Sensory analysis was based on a quantitative descriptive method: a trained panel of 13 judges evaluated the apple samples according to 15 sensory attributes relating to texture, odour, flavour and appearance. The method was validated through the analysis of panel consonance and consistency. Univariate and multivariate analyses showed that sensory attributes can be used to discriminate among different cultivars and highlight the perceivable changes in fruit quality induced by postharvest practises.

Purpose – A different framework based on a parametric version of the process generating the hedonic scores is adopted. More precisely, a probability distribution for ordinal responses is proposed as a mixture of two components, denoted as feeling (as expressed preference) and uncertainty component (as inherent indecision). The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of covariates on the consumers’ behaviour pattern according to a statistical model. Design/methodology/approach – Sample data come from a multidisciplinary research aimed to improve the quality and marketability of soft fruits. Then, a stochastic model with subjects’ and objects’ covariates is built and the interpretation of significant results is discussed. Findings – The joint effects of personal characteristics and chemical contents of juice on the hedonic scores given by consumers are examined and graphically depicted by means of a significant model. Originality/value – The paper suggests a multi-product approach to expressed hedonic scores by means of a generalization of CUB models.

This study describes and analyses a practical implementation of basic sensory analysis principles in a productive context related to typical products. As a case study, we investigated the quality control (QC) system of Trentingrana cheese, a variety of the protected designation of origin Grana Padano. The production of Trentingrana cheese factories is supervised by their consortium through the assessment of sensory quality attributes by an expert panel; and, depending on the evaluation, the associated dairies receive price premiums or penalties. The procedures applied and the data collected over 8 years were evaluated, and critical points were identified. Ameliorations were suggested in accordance with good sensory practice and were verified over an additional 3-year period. The QC system has been improved by increasing the number of evaluated samples proportionally to the amount of the production of each dairy, by introducing a balanced experimental design, by monitoring experts' performance and by controlling the sample presentation to avoid systematic effects and psychological errors. Practical Applications With this work, we demonstrate the viability of applying the sensory approach to quality control (QC) within the food industry of typical products. The QC proposed here is a compromise between the practical constraints of implementing sensory testing procedures in an industrial context and the basic requirements of good sensory practice for collecting reliable data. Nevertheless, the implemented QC represents an example of an efficient strategy for protected designation of origin product valorization, fundamental for preserving both market position and consumer confidence and loyalty toward the product.

The aim of this research was to study the effects of the modalities of milk collection and storage on the final quality of Trentingrana cheese, an Italian Protected Designation of Origin hard cheese. Two milk collection methods were compared: traditional double milk collection (DMC) and single milk collection (SMC). The latter evaluated as a cost-effective alternative. Experiments were carried out at different milk storage temperatures (ambient temperature and 18 °C for DMC; 12 °C and 8 °C for SMC). The complete experimental design was repeated over two seasons. DMC cheeses had a richer aromatic profile, a lower intensity of yellow colour and a lower ripening index compared to SMC cheeses. From a sensory point of view, Trentingrana Consortium experts evaluated DMC cheeses better in terms of commercial quality whereas the trained panel detected differences only when comparing extreme temperature conditions.

Supercritical pasteurisation is receiving increasing attention as an alternative technology for foodstuff pasteurisation, but often the possible effects on the perceptible quality are not sufficiently considered. To address this latter issue, besides standard microbial analysis, we here investigate the impact of CO 2 /N 2 O supercritical pasteurisation (100 bar, 36 °C and 10 min treatment time) on the quality traits of fresh apple juice, linked to consumer perception. Discriminative sensory analysis (triangle test) and basic chemical characterization (total solids, sugars, organic acids, polyphenols) could not clearly demonstrate any induced modification of the treated juice, while head space analysis of volatile compounds (both by GC–MS and PTR–MS) indicated a general depletion of the volatile compounds that must be considered in the development of a stabilization method based on supercritical gases.

The volatile compounds emitted by two raspberry varieties ( Rubus idaeus , cv. Polka and Tulameen) were analyzed, in both the case of fresh fruits and juices, by two headspace methods that are rapid, solvent-free, and with reduced or no sample pretreatment: solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (SPME/GC-MS) and proton-transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS). Multivariate analysis of the SPME/GC-MS results allows for an unambiguous sample discrimination for both mashed fruits and juices. PTR-MS instrumental fingerprint provides, in a faster way, similar qualitative information on the overall flavor profile. The two cultivars show both qualitative and quantitative differences. SPME/GC-MS analysis shows that alcohols and aldehydes are more abundant in the headspace of Tulameen as, e.g., hexanal and hexanol that induce herbaceous odor notes. This observation has been confirmed by sensory analysis. PTR-MS was also used to monitor rapid processes that modify the original aromatic profile, such as lipo-oxigenase activity induced by tissue damages occurring during industrial transformation, accidental mechanical damages, or as a consequence of chewing.

Proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) is a relatively new technique that allows the fast and accurate detection of volatile organic compounds. The paper discusses the possibility of correlating the PTR-MS spectral fingerprint of the mixture of volatile compounds present in the head-space of 20 samples of “Trentingrana”, the variety of Grana Padano produced in Trentino (Northern Italy), with the sensory evaluation (Quantitative Descriptive Analysis) of the same samples obtained by a panel of trained judges. Only attributes related to odours (six attributes) and flavours (six attributes) are considered. Results of descriptive statistics are shown and the performances of different multivariate calibration methods (Partial Least Squares, both PLS1 and PLS2) are compared by evaluating the errors in the cross-validated estimation of the sensory attributes. PLS2 seems to give a good average description providing an overall insight of the problem but does not provide an accurate prediction of the individual sensory attributes. PLS1 analysis is more accurate and performs well in most cases but it uses several latent variables, so that the interpretation of the loadings is not straightforward. The preliminary application of Orthogonal Signal Correction filtering on PTR-MS spectra followed by PLS1 analysis results in a good estimation for most of the attributes and has the advantage to use only one or two latent variables. Comparison with other works and a tentative indication of the compounds correlated with sensory description are reported.

In this paper we discuss an extension to preference mapping of the method proposed in [Endrizzi, I., Menichelli, E., Johansen, S. B., Olsen, N. V., & Næs, T. (2011). Handling of individual differences in rating- based conjoint analysis. Food Quality and Preference, 22, 241–254 ] for accommodating both population averages and individual differences in the same model. The method, based on average estimates and residuals, is a combination of ANOVA, PCA and PLS-DA, which are well-known techniques that can be run in almost all statistical software packages. Main attention is given to the relation between the double- centred residual matrix which highlights differences between consumers in their relative position as compared to the average consumer values and the standard centring in preference mapping. This approach has been found particularly useful for highlighting differences in preference pattern among the consumers. Furthermore, the interpretation and the segmentation, that is here taking place based on differences in acceptance pattern, are graphically oriented. In addition, some possible alternatives to the generally used validation method in PCA are suggested. The approach is then illustrated using two data-sets from consumer studies of apple and raspberry juice, showing that when individual differences are analysed by the present method, interesting results regarding individual differences in response pattern are detected.