New methods to assess sensory responses: A brief review of innovative techniques in sensory evaluation

Abstract

Sensory evaluation incorporates methodologies from different scientific disciplines. Studying humans’ reactions to different stimuli, such as foods or beverages, is complex as multiple dimensions are involved in sensory perception. Currently, traditional sensory protocols (discrimination, descriptive, and affective) are heavily employed in the industry and/or academia for testing a wide variety of stimuli. Nonetheless, these methodologies have drawbacks such as physiological and psychological biases when evaluating participants’ behaviors and choices. Novel methods have been developed to capture more holistic responses from sensory panels. This brief review article provides a snapshot of these current novel methods. New techniques such as the use of biometrics (facial expressions, heart rate, skin conductance, body temperature, and eye-tracking), virtual environments (virtual and/or augmented reality), and artificial smart senses are being explored as tools to understand the complex nature of human perception to foods and beverages.