Analysis of Pungency Sensation Effects from an Oral Processing, Sensorial and Emotions Detection Perspective—Case Study with Grilled Pork Meat

Abstract

Pungency is an interesting sensory stimulus analyzed from different perspectives, in particular the underpinning mechanisms of its sensation and perception. In this study, grilled pork meat coated with three types of hot sauces were investigated regarding its main food oral processing characteristics and evaluated using time-intensity and temporal dominance of pungency sensations methods analyzing the pungency descriptors and intensities. Besides these methods, facial expressions obtained from video capturing were subject to emotion detection. Mastication parameters showed a slight, but not statistically significant, trend of an increased number of chews and consumption time associated with pungency intensity, while saliva incorporation indicated an increasing trend depending on the pungency intensity, especially after 25 strokes and before swallowing. Both time intensity and temporal dominance of pungency sensations showed that the complexity of understanding these sensations is in relation to intensity and type. Finally, the use of emotion detection software in analyzing the faces of panelists during mastication confirmed the increase in non-neutral emotions associated with the increase in pungency intensity.

Purple eggplant and zucchini color, mechanical properties, mastication, and sensory perception influenced by steaming and Sous-vide

“…During the mastication, subjects were video recorded with a digital camera (Sony DSC-W830S, Minato, Tokyo, Japan) at 720p, 60 fps. The camera was placed approximately 50 cm from the subjects, ensuring that their torso and head were on the frame (Djekic et al, 2021c). Obtained video recordings were analyzed for the number of chews, consumption time, and number of swallows (number of hand-risings) (Aguayo--Mendoza et al, 2019;Hennequin et al, 2005).…”

Scientific challenges in modeling mastication of meat using engineering tools

“…The first one is the use of a software video analysis that has the feature to analyze graphs of time (x-axis) vs. vertical jaw displacement (yaxis) where chews are visible as peaks [40]. The second solution is the use of humans to count chews while replaying clips and cross checking for accuracy [43]. The latest research on food oral processing confirms that mastication characteristics and behavior from a consumer point of view affects consumer satisfaction in parallel with sensorial properties [19].…”

“…It is common to use collected video clips (from oral processing/mastication studies) for analyzing emotions [43]. The first criterion for performing this type of studies is good illumination of the face of the panelists to ensure reliable results [44].…”

“…The second one is the categorization of different emotions based on internally developed models using some databases such as DeepFace -face recognition and facial attribute analysis framework [45]. Some publications have detected five types of emotions during mastication -'neutral' , 'angry' , 'sad' , 'happy' , and 'surprise' , [43] while others have up to seven -'angry' , 'disgusted' , 'happy' , 'neutral' , 'sad' , 'scared' , 'surprised' [46]. Finally, before starting these types of studies, it is necessary to avoid all types of biases such as unintended detection of wild facial expression [47] and taking off glasses (if any) as some may mask emotions [46].…”

“…Finally, before starting these types of studies, it is necessary to avoid all types of biases such as unintended detection of wild facial expression [47] and taking off glasses (if any) as some may mask emotions [46]. Therefore, clear protocol for this type of studies is to have panelists being instructed to look directly into the camera from the first bite to swallowing [43].…”