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G. V. CIVILLE, Sensory Spectrum, Inc., 554 Central Avenue, New Providence, NJ 07974 Consumers rarely mention texture as a key component in most foods unless the texture properties are "off." Although texture attributes are not readily mentioned, researchers and product developers cannot assume they are unimportant. Application of organized and referenced descriptive methods enables precise documentation of texture that is both accurate and reproducible over time and across panels. Use of this precise documentation as a foundation for designing consumer research and as a tool to interpret consumer data allows sensory scientists to predict consumer liking by identifying the best products along with the texture attributes that influence their ratings—key drivers. Deeper consumer research can reveal the unarticulated aspects of texture perception that influence consumer choices, such as the link between texture and the perceived "freshness" of food products or the components of the "creaminess" of desserts. A strategy for understanding the perception of texture is provided for a vast array of food products: documentation of all texture properties (visual, oral and manual); determining the consumer vocabulary through consumer qualitative research, such as focus groups; measuring consumer responses with well-designed quantitative consumer research; and discovering deeper consumer needs with tools for insights. Examples of rigorous sensory methods (descriptive, consumer quantitative, and consumer insights) are integrated to demonstrate how data can yield information for making business decisions that ultimately spark insights for true consumer and product understanding.
Session 47, Sensory analysis of texture in dairy products
2005 IFT Annual Meeting, July 15-20 - New Orleans, Louisiana |