Ha Nguyen | ALES Graduate Seminar

Event details: A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES PhD Final Exam Seminar by Haq Nguyen. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
Thesis Topic: Consumer sensory perception and liking of sodium-reduced food products
Seminar Abstract:

Comparisons of static sensory attribute profiles and overall liking between regular and sodium-reduced foods were performed in the consumer panel (n=100) of the first study. Additionally, the influence of taste sensitivity and consumption frequency of dietary sodium sources (DSS) on consumer sensory perception were investigated to understand the heterogeneity of consumer perception. Four pairs of regular and sodium-reduced products (potato chips, pickles, cooked ham, chicken noodle soup) were evaluated for overall liking, Just-About-Right (JAR) saltiness and Rate-All-That-Apply (RATA) sensory profiles. In the second consumer study (n=20), temporal sensory profiles of regular and sodium-reduced foods were compared across 4 food item pairs (potato chips, canned corn, cooked ham and cream of mushroom soup) and between the temporal methods of Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS) and Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA), with additional multi-intake evaluations for chips and soup and evaluation by modality for ham. The influence of companion foods on consumer perception and liking of a regular and sodium-reduced foods was examined in the third study. Three consumer panels evaluated three food pairs; salsa with corn chips (n=98), ketchup with tater tots (n=100) and soy sauce with cooked rice (n=98). For each panel, consumers evaluated overall liking and RATA sensory profiles of 5 samples; the regular and sodium-reduced foods alone (corn chips, ketchup or soy sauce), the companion food alone and food pairs of the regular and sodium-reduced foods each with the companion food.

Overall, sodium reduction influenced consumer sensory perception and liking differently across food products and sensory methods. For single foods, regular and sodium-reduced products differed in static and temporal sensory profiles of not only salty taste but also other sensory attributes. The perceptible sensory differences between regular and sodium-reduced foods were acceptable to consumers for potato chips, cooked ham, corn chips and soy sauce. However, when consumed with companion foods there were limited sensory attribute differences between regular and sodium-reduced foods; only salty taste for the corn chips, salty and sweet tastes for soy sauce, but no significant differences for ketchup. The presence of the companion food reduced consumer ability to discriminate sensory attributes between regular and sodium-reduced products and changed the product sensory profiles and liking. Consumer heterogeneity in response to sodium reduction in processed foods was observed, confirming the food industry challenge to please every consumer with a single formulation. Consumption frequency of dietary sodium sources (DSS) influenced consumer sensory perception and liking. The 3-point RATA scale is an appropriate tool for static sensory profiling of regular and sodium-reduced food products. TDS profiles highlighted more product pair differences than TCATA profiles; TCATA profiles were more consistent across intakes. Ham evaluation by modality provided less detailed description of TDS profiles and identified more product pair differences in TCATA profiles. Results of the three studies of product pairs and sensory temporal methods are useful to generalize study findings and provide a guide for future application of study methods to develop sodium-reduced foods acceptable to targeted consumer segments.

Ha Nguyen – PhD with Dr. Wendy Wismer