Sensory analysis represents a decisive step during the various stages of food product development. For probiotic, prebiotic, and synbiotic foods, which have shown continuous and significant consumption in the functional food category, the choice of an appropriate technique allows obtaining relevant sensory information that contributes to consumer acceptance. This review focuses on the importance of sensory analytical techniques in prebiotic and probiotic food product development. Examples of the most known sensory methodologies applied to these important functional foods are presented, as well as some considerations about consumer attitudes that can influence acceptance of these products. Moreover, applications of such techniques on functional product evaluation are provided.
The aims of this study were (1) to map sensory attributes of vanilla ice cream with reduced fat and sugar, and (2) to determine drivers of liking by applying external preference mapping and reveal the relationship between descriptive attributes and hedonic judgments using the partial least squares method. Descriptive sensory profiles (n=11) and consumer test (n=117) of 6 samples of vanilla ice cream (3 traditional and 3 with reduced fat and sugar) were determined. The attributes brightness and sweet aftertaste for sample and creaminess (appearance and texture) and sweet aroma contributed positively to the acceptance of ice cream samples. The attributes aeration, powdered milk aroma and flavor, and white chocolate aroma and flavor contributed positively to the acceptance of the ice creams. The attributes hydrogenated fat aroma and flavor were responsible for the lower acceptance of samples. The reduction in fat and sugar did not necessarily cause a decrease in acceptance. The most important factors were selection of the appropriate sweetener system and the use of good quality raw material.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.