12-8 |
Development and preliminary testing of an instrument imitative of the human bite |
M. Escot1, J. F. C. MEULLENET2, and W. K. Chung2. (1) ENSAT, Avenue de l'Agrobiopole, BP 107 Auzeville-Tolosane, Castanet-Tolosan Cedex, 31326, France, (2) Dept. of Food Science, Univ. of Arkansas, 2650 N. Young Ave., Fayetteville, AR 72704-5585 Instrumental methods to assess food texture are often used without considering parameters relevant to the sensory perception of food texture and without considering conditions occurring in mouth during chewing. The objective of this study was to develop an imitative instrument of the human bite capable of accurately reproducing jaw movements observed in vivo and to perform preliminary testing with the instrument. Eleven gels of various gelatin and glycerol concentrations were produced to represent a broad spectrum of sensory hardness intensities. Trained panelists assessed the gels for hardness. To assess differences in food manipulation by the subjects, a jaw motion recorder was used to measure biting velocities during the first bite. Imitative instrumental measurements were performed using the BITE master II. The instrument consists of a non-arcon dental articulator. The articulator, used in reconstructive dentistry, was attached to an xyz table capable of reproducing the motion recorded by the jaw tracker. Dental replicas of the subject were mounted in the articulator in a spatial configuration identical to that of the patient. The station was also equipped with four 25 Kg load cells capable of measuring both vertical and lateral loads on each side of the jaw. The xyz motion of the lower jaw was replicated by inputting the motion trace obtained with the jaw tracker through controlling software. Hardness for individual subjects was correlated to instrumental data. Results showed that there was an improvement in the coefficient of determination for predicting perceived hardness from instrumental measurements performed with the B.I.T.E. Master II (R2=0.94) when compared to similar uniaxial measurements (R2=0.88). The accurate reproduction of jaw movements through the BITE master II allowed for force measurements to be more representative of in vivo conditions. The significance of these results is that all individuals do not manipulate food products in the same manner. This should be a consideration in designing imitative instrumental tests.
Session 12, Sensory Evaluation: Methods and consumer testing
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