Recruiting, training and managing a sensory panel in odor nuisance testing

Abstract

A growing level of environmental awareness in societies has led to an increased interest in the odor nuisance. Residents’ complaints have ultimately revealed the need to develop adequate research methods that would ensure objective measurements, thus shedding more light on this complex problem. One of the possible ways to conduct an objective odor assessment is to use a sensory panel in the tests. This paper presents the procedure for selecting and training the sensory analysis team especially for the purposes of odor nuisance testing. Several useful suggestions for conducting studies that involve a sensory panel are also provided. This in turn can prove a useful tool, supplementing the EN 13725 standard within the scope of building and convening a sensory panel. In this paper a performance comparison of two sensory panels is also discussed: one that received a basic training of 20h, solely based on the guidelines of the EN 13725 standard and another, whose members completed an extended training of 60h, based on the standards and guidelines used in the field of sensory analysis. It has been shown that acquiring more knowledge and developing certain competences in the field of sensory analysis may contribute to an increase in the overall and individual precision of determinations as adequate sensory training improves the panel’s performance.

An algorithm for the identification of nuisance objects in urban space in relation to the social function of sustainable development

“…An analysis of the impact of individual senses on spatial perception was proposed by Edward T. Hall (1978), who considered objects in space from the perspective of three basic human senses, namely hearing, smell and vision (Hall, 1978). Consequently, spatial perception and, therefore the quality of life is significantly impacted by sounds (Lewandowski & Szumacher, 2008) and odours (Bernat, 2010;Wojnarowska et al, 2021;Turek, 2021) and sights (Frydryczak, 2016), respectively. Furthermore, those feel- ings may occur jointly, and their impact depends on the individual feelings and needs (including social needs) of a person.…”

Assessment of E-Senses Performance through Machine Learning Models for Colombian Herbal Teas Classification

“…This variation in food perception is based on distinctive food cues, cultural background, habits, social environment, and emotions [2]. That is why, in order to obtain more objectivity in sensory analysis, a group of panelists must be trained to acquire a level of sensory acuity and to provide reproducible results [6,7]. However, sensory evaluation has some disadvantages as it is often time-consuming, expensive, inappropriate for timely measurements, inconsistent, and unpredictable due to various human factors.…”

Odour Perception Using a Sniffing Team at a Municipal Solid Waste Treatment Plant: A Case Study

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