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The problems of malnutrition constitute a major challenge in South Africa, particularly affecting the underprivileged populations of the Eastern Cape and Limpopo provinces. The present study aimed to gain an understanding of how to improve the nutritional intake of South African university student mothers and their children by the introduction of Moringa oleifera in their food. Focus Group Discussion was implemented at two previously historically disadvantaged universities with predominantly black student populations, namely the University of Fort Hare and the University of Limpopo. Findings from the participants’ discussion about food habits and barriers to healthy eating show that there is a gap between healthy eating knowledge and eating habits. Despite the high level of awareness of the importance of nutritional intake, most of the study participants and their children consume less healthy foods. Due to the high cost of healthy food and their limited income, student mothers face substantial financial constraints when trying to make healthy changes in their food habits. Moreover, student mothers’ positive beliefs about the nutritional benefits of Moringa are insufficient to encourage its consumption. Finally, student mothers agree about using Moringa as a nutritional supplement. Maize porridge (pap) appears to be the preferred staple food for Moringa supplementation because of its palatability, satiating power, availability, affordability, and ease of preparation.

The definition of regional typicality is a determinant for the preservation of perceived wine quality and protection of wine origin. This work firstly aims at evaluating the sensory diversity of young Tempranillo Tinto wines in the three subregions of DOCa Rioja (Alta-RALT-, Alavesa-RAVS- and Oriental-RO-) and secondly aims to explore the capacity of voltammetric signals to measure sensory differences. Thirty young Tempranillo Tinto wines, ten from each subregion, were sensory-described using a free sorting task followed by a free description task with 32 well-established Rioja winemakers. The sorting task evidenced that the salient sensory differences perceived were between RO and RALT/RAVS, attributed to differences in perceived colour intensity, body/structure and liquorice aroma. The free description task highlighted the core and shared characteristic of the young Tempranillo Tinto Rioja wines, a fresh fruit aroma, but also the unique and specific sensory profiles attached to the three regions. The RALT region presents ripe fruit and spicy and balsamic/mint aromas with powerful tannins, while RAVS's wines are mainly characterised by their gummy candy, fresh fruit, lactic and floral aromas, with a silky and mellow mouthfeel. The characteristic profile for RO was linked to jammy fruit, with spicy aromas and a light perception in the mouth. The signals derived from linear sweep voltammetry were able to measure the main sensory differences between RO and RALT/RALV, as did the sorting task. This is the first time that scientific research has established the typical regional character of young Tempranillo Tinto Rioja wines, which includes a common and shared profile combined with the specificities linked to each subregion, contributing to a better understanding of the notion of regional typicality in wine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the ability of children to classify fruit and flower odors. We asked four groups of children (4-11 years of age) and a group of adults to identify, categorize, and evaluate the edibility, liking, and typicality of 12 fruit and flower odors. Results showed an increase in interindividual agreement with age for the taxonomic (fruit/flower) and function-based (edible/nonedible) categories but not for the hedonic component. So, it seems that this hedonic component is not the explicit basis for this increase in interindividual agreement when categorizing an odor as a fruit/flower odor or as being edible or nonedible. An age-related trend was also observed on the typicality scores: The youngest group of children did not show a typicality gradient, but all of the other groups did. Blackcurrant and lemon were rated as the most typical fruit odors, whereas raspberry and peach were rated as the least typical. For flower odorants, results were not as clear, yet it seems that for all groups lavender was considered as quite typical. (Contains 2 tables and 5 figures.)

The perception of face gender was examined in the context of extending 'face space' models of human face representations to include the perceptual categories defined by male and female faces. We collected data on the recognizability, gender classifiability (reaction time to classify a face as male/female), attractiveness, and masculinity/femininity of individual male and female faces. Factor analyses applied separately to the data for male and female faces yielded the following results. First, for both male and female faces, the recognizability and gender classifiability of faces were independent - a result inconsistent with the hypothesis that both recognizability and gender classifiability depend on a face's 'distance' from the subcategory gender prototype. Instead, caricatured aspects of gender (femininity/masculinity ratings) related to the gender classifiability of the faces. Second, facial attractiveness related inversely to face recognizability for male, but not for female, faces - a result that resolves inconsistencies in previous studies. Third, attractiveness and femininity for female faces were nearly equivalent, but attractiveness and masculinity for male faces were not equivalent. Finally, we applied principal component analysis to the pixel-coded face images with the aim of extracting measures related to the gender classifiability and recognizability of individual faces. We incorporated these model-derived measures into the factor analysis with the human rating and performance measures. This combined analysis indicated that face recognizability is related to the distinctiveness of a face with respect to its gender subcategory prototype. Additionally, the gender classifiability of faces related to at least one caricatured aspect of face gender.

The other-race effect was examined in a series of experiments and simulations that looked at the relationships among observer ratings of typicality, familiarity, attractiveness, memorability, and the performance variables of d' and criterion. Experiment 1 replicated the other-race effect with our Caucasian and Japanese stimuli for both Caucasian and Asian observers. In Experiment 2, we collected ratings from Caucasian observers on the faces used in the recognition task. A Varimax-rotated principal components analysis on the rating and performance data for the Caucasian faces replicated Vokey and Read's (1992) finding that typicality is composed of two orthogonal components, dissociable via their independent relationships to: (1) attractiveness and familiarity ratings and (2) memorability ratings. For Japanese faces, however, we found that typicality was related only to memorability. Where performance measures were concerned, two additional principal components dominated by criterion and by d' emerged for Caucasian faces. For the Japanese faces, however, the performance measures of d' and criterion merged into a single component that represented a second component of typicality, one orthogonal to the memorability-dominated component. A measure of face representation quality extracted from an autoassociative neural network trained with a majority of Caucasian faces and a minority of Japanese faces was incorporated into the principal components analysis. For both Caucasian and Japanese faces, the neural network measure related both to memorability ratings and to human accuracy measures. Combined, the human data and simulation results indicate that the memorability component of typicality may be related to small, local, distinctive features, whereas the attractiveness/familiarity component may be more related to the global, shape-based properties of the face.

Do consumers know what organic processed food is and are they able to correctly identify it? This article aimed to address these questions in Brazil. We used the snowball methodology to disseminate the questionnaire (1,690 answers) containing 21 questions regarding: 1. frequency of consumption, 2. self-assessment of knowledge regarding organic processed food, 3. ability to identify the organic label, 4. knowledge regarding the organic processed food identity standards, 5. socioeconomic profile. Participants' self-assessed knowledge showed positive associations with both the knowledge regarding identity standards and the ability to identify organic labels. Younger, more educated participants who were responsible for domestic purchases were more likely to correctly identify organic processed food. No compelling evidence was found that frequency of organic processed food consumption affected the performance on the questionnaire. We also found evidence that regions of residence affect the level of knowledge and ability to identify organic processed food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wine is of great economic and cultural significance for South Africa, but some population groups were until relatively recently denied equal access to wine and alcohol products. The South African wine industry has launched various campaigns in recent years that aimed at portraying wine as an acceptable and attractive choice when alcohol consumption is considered. It is therefore appropriate now to investigate whether these endeavors of the South African wine industry have resulted in particular consumer behavior and preferences that could serve as input to enhance strategies when marketing to South African consumers. This study uses the thematic analysis method to identify themes that could be of value for wine marketers. To collect data for the study, a total of 44 consumers were assigned to 6 focus groups. Eight main themes driving consumer choices emerged from the data: journey and role of life-stage, context of consumption, conceptualizations, barriers, price and purchasing, bottle closures, health, sensory perception, and cultivars. The influences of gender and ethnicity on consumers' perceptions of wine and wine consumption were investigated. Gender produced the biggest differences in respect of respondents' perceptions about wine and wine consumption whilst ethnicity did not appear to be of any significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • Culture is changing and shifting consumption from object possession, to experiences. • Through experiences, the consumer no longer "destroys" but becomes the builder of emotions and moments. • Product and eating experience are concepts from a similar origin but differ in the variables involved in consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pivot Profile© (PP) was proposed recently by Thuillier, Valentin, Marchal, and Dacremont (2015) as an alternative to classical descriptive methods. Its principle is to describe each product by comparing it to a stable reference (called Pivot). While the method seems promising there is little data available and some issues still need to be examined. This paper proposes to evaluate two of these issues: the effects of the similarity within the product space and of the choice of pivot. We compared the pivot profiles obtained for three different sets of beers, varying in their within-set sensory similarity, using different pivots. We found that PP results are more influenced by the within-set similarity than by the choice of the pivot. We suggest that the PP method is more suitable for restricted product spaces in terms of sensory characteristics, and that the creation of a “central product” as the pivot can be a good option when the type of products allows it. However, further studies need to be conducted to assess PP in terms of assessors’ repeatability and consensus, as well as to propose alternative statistical analyses that would take into account the individual PP data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do people eat and drink as they do? This complex question is of great interest to both the academic and industrial world. In recent years, a change of consumption has been noticed in several countries with an increase in interest for traditional and craft products. This is the case, for example, for the beer sector, going from a beer category dominated by one style to a wider range of options of industrial beers and to less commercial options such as craft beers. A change in patterns of consumption is usually an indicator that the perception towards the product is changing. In this study, the objective is to understand the impact of gender (men versus women) and type of consumption (craft versus industrial beer) on mental beer representations. Four groups of participants were asked to visually sort a set of beer in the presence of brand and packaging. The results show both similarities and differences in the categorization made by each group of consumers. Overall, participants agreed more on their categorization of industrial beers than they did with craft beers. Gender differences were perceived in the sorting task especially in terms of the number of groups used to sort beers, more groups in men; but also in the words used to describe beers. When comparing the results across women and men, it was seen that the latter sort the beers based on previous knowledge (cognitive dimension) while women rely more on the affective dimension (like – do not like) to sort the beers. An interaction effect was also found between gender and type of consumption which highlights the complex relationship that consumers have towards beers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study’s aim was to investigate a central tenet of biodynamic philosophy as applied to wine tasting, namely that wines taste different in systematic ways on days determined by the lunar cycle. Nineteen New Zealand wine professionals tasted blind 12 Pinot noir wines at times determined within the biodynamic calendar for wine drinkers as being favourable (Fruit day) and unfavourable (Root day) for wine tasting. Tasters rated each wine four times, twice on a Fruit day and twice on a Root day, using 20 experimenter-provided descriptors. Wine descriptors spanned a range of varietal-relevant aroma, taste, and mouthfeel characteristics, and were selected with the aim of elucidating both qualitative and quantitative aspects of each wine’s perceived aromatic, taste, and structural aspects including overall wine quality and liking. A post-experimental questionnaire was completed by each participant to determine their degree of knowledge about the purpose of the study, and their awareness of the existence of the biodynamic wine drinkers’ calendar. Basic wine physico-chemical parameters were determined for the wines tasted on each of a Fruit day and a Root day. Results demonstrated that the wines were judged differentially on all attributes measured although type of day as determined by the biodynamic calendar for wine drinkers did not influence systematically any of the wine characteristics evaluated. The findings highlight the importance of testing experimentally practices that are based on anecdotal evidence but that lend themselves to empirical investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eigenfeatures are created by the principal component approach (PCA) used on objects described by a low-level code (i.e., pixels, Gabor jets). We suggest that eigenfeatures act like the flexible features described by Schyns et al. They are particularly suited for face processing and give rise to class-specific effects such as the other-race effect. The PCA approach can be modified to accommodate top-down constraints.

The study aimed to determine the relationship between perceived mineral character in wine and wine chemical composition. We investigated the sensory properties and chemical composition of sauvignon blanc wines from two major sauvignon-producing countries, New Zealand and France. Sensory experiments employing 16 wines (8 French, 8 New Zealand) were conducted in Marlborough, New Zealand and in three regions of France, namely Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Sancerre/Loire region. Wine professionals (31 New Zealanders and 32 French professionals) sensorially characterised the 16 wines under three conditions, bouquet only (ortho-nasal olfaction), palate only (nose clip condition), and full tasting (global condition: ortho-nasal olfaction, retronasal olfaction, taste, trigeminal stimulation). Sensory data from the global condition only are reported in this article. Physical and chemical analyses conducted on all wines included wine standard parameters, elemental composition, volatile aroma composition, and measures of organic acids. Major results demonstrate that (i) on average French and New Zealand wines were perceived similarly in intensity of mineral character, although judgments to individual wines differed as a function of participant culture; (ii) French and NZ participants drew on different information to make their sensory judgments; and (iii) several aspects of wine composition associated positively with perception of mineral character while others associated negatively, the significant associations differing as a function of participant culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite anecdotal reports suggesting an influence of perceived wine colour on wine professionals’ judgments of wine intrinsic quality, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the phenomenon. The major aim of the present study was to investigate the importance of perceived colour as a driver of chemosensory judgments of Pinot noir wines including sensory evaluations of quality and typicality. Twenty-three French and 23 New Zealand (NZ) wine professionals judged Pinot noir wines from France and NZ on a range of attributes including perceived colour (hue, intensity, and brightness), varietal characteristics, and overall wine quality. The wines were evaluated in both standard clear glassware where colour could serve as a cue, and in opaque (black) glassware. Results demonstrated that colour was not a major factor in sensory assessment of the Pinot noir wines including in judgments of wine quality, although wine colour had several minor effects. On the other hand, the data show that perceived balance of a wine was the most important factor driving quality judgments of the wines for tasters of both cultures. The data are discussed in terms of the concept of perceived quality in wine as well as in terms of cultural differences in sensory evaluation of Pinot noir wines. Finally, an important methodological issue, namely usage of opaque (black) glassware as opposed to standard, clear glassware in wine sensory research, is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pivot© profile is a new frequency-based descriptive method based on free description allowing to record judges’ free expression in an ordinal manner. The strategy implemented in Pivot© profile to capture the relative meaning of descriptors, is to collect a free description of the differences between two products: a target product and a pivot (i.e., a product that will serve as a standard to describe the other products). The repetition of this task using the same product as the pivot, allows supplying a complete description of the set of products. A real life example on champagne showed that Pivot© profile is easy to perform for participants and allows generating meaningful product descriptions. Simulations indicated that the approach is robust for both the choice of the pivot among the products of interest and the heterogeneity of the panel. Both experimental data and simulations highlight the potential of the Pivot© profile. Pros and cons on both experimental and theoretical aspects are discussed comparatively to other fast descriptive methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Language might have an effect on the quality of sensory profiles on food description. In cross-cultural studies, it was observed that the effect of language and cultures cannot be easily separated. This work aimed to separate these two effects by working with bilingual consumers speaking Malagasy and French languages. Five samples of dried M oringa oleifera leaf powder were described by flash profiles by four different consumer panels. Two panels performed flash profiles using French language and the two others used Malagasy language. The duplication of profiles in each language aimed to determine the importance of differences between panels using the same language and panels using different languages. There was no effect of language on the global quantity of words and the general repartition of words between sensory categories was similar. A higher number of meta-descriptors were generated in French for the odor/aroma descriptors category. Malagasy language gave more numerous specific meta-descriptors than the French one for visual category, while it was the contrary for odor/aroma and taste categories. French terminology was more precise thanks to the use of qualifiers associated to the descriptors to specify their meaning. No effect of language was observed on the positioning of the powders. Practical Applications This study offers new insight into the effect of languages on the description of food by consumers. When performing sensory analysis in bilingual countries, the choice of the language does not seem to influence the resulting analysis of products. For sensory analyses performed with people having different culture and language, our results suggest that the effects of culture would predominate over the effects of language to explain the differences that are frequently observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT We have examined short-term memory performance for odour recognition as a function of expertise. Experts (perfumers and flavourists), trained panellists, and novices studied three sets of common and uncommon (perfumery and flavour raw materials) odours with intentional encoding instructions. The three sets included three, six and 12 odours, respectively. As expected, recognition performance indicated an expertise effect: hit rates increased with expertise, whereas false alarm rates decreased. This effect, however, is mediated by the type and number of odours. For common odours, the effect of expertise is significant only for the larger odour set. For uncommon odours, the effect of expertise is significant for all three odour sets. Finally, an order effect was found on hit rate for novices and to a lesser extent for trained panellists, but not for perfumers and flavourists. Taken together these results indicate that, as expected, through training, experts develop a better olfactory short-term memory than novices. This increase in short-term memory performance might be sustained by a better ability to verbalize the odours. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An earlier study by the same team showed that Chardonnay wines have common olfactory properties by which wine experts can recognize them. The specific Chardonnay olfactory space was also tentatively linked to the relative concentrations of 29 volatile compounds, regarded as possible aroma-impact compounds. The question now is whether or not those initial results hold independently of the sample under consideration, that is, whether these sensory and chemical spaces are vintage-specific. A series of investigations was conducted on a new set of 46 wines (23 Chardonnay wines and 23 non Chardonnay wines) using the same sensory (wine typicality level) and physico-chemical (Gas Chromatography–mass spectrometry–selected ion monitoring: GC–MS–SIM) approaches as in the earlier study. The sensory space of Chardonnay wines has been identified again in this new study. Compared with white wines of other grape varieties, Chardonnay wines do have distinctive and recognizable olfactory characteristics. LSD tests carried out on the chemical data and a PLS analysis predicting wine typicality level from the chemical data showed that the relative concentrations of 35 volatile compounds affected the wines'' typicality scores. Of the 35 compounds, 18 were already among the 29 possible aroma-impact compounds identified by the earlier study. These 18 common volatile compounds seem to be vintage-independent and as such might represent the core of the Chardonnay wine olfactory space. The others seem to be specific to the new wines tested and may contribute to the fuzziness of the boundaries of the Chardonnay wine olfactory space. These results emphasize the complexity of the odor quality of Chardonnay wines, with some volatile compounds remaining stable across vintages, while others are specific to enological practices and to vintages. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study investigated the cultural differences in description and preference of soy yogurts formulated for French market between French and Vietnamese panellists, two cultures with important differences in soy and dairy product consumption habits. Two trained panels assessed the in-mouth perceptions of eight soy yogurts and four milk yogurts, using a conventional descriptive analysis method. Three soy and two cow milk yogurts, representing the sensory space of the product set were then assessed by two consumer panels in a hedonic test. A multiple factor analysis (MFA) showed that the two sensory profiles are highly similar. The two panels agreed on texture and taste attributes but cultural specificities were revealed for aroma attributes: French panellists used two times more attributes than Vietnamese panellists (10 vs. 5). While the Vietnamese attributes are related to soy-based products (“raw soybean”, “soy milk” and “tofu”) the French attributes were more diverse and even included references to non-food products (“wood”, “earthy” and “chalk”). The result of the hedonic test showed that soy yogurts were worst appreciated by both panels. In general, the soy and dairy product consumption data of the panellists helped to explain their preferences towards soy or milk yogurts. However this is not the case of a Vietnamese consumer subgroup who consumes soy products frequently. Their hedonic ratings on soy yogurts suggest that they expected the authentic soy-related sensory properties in tasting soy yogurts and these properties might not be found in this new product. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Certain odours are commonly associated with the bouquet of Sauvignon blanc wine. These characteristic varietal odours can vary to reflect origin of a Sauvignon blanc wine. In the present study, Sauvignon blanc wines from sub-regions of Marlborough, New Zealand, and from north France (Sancerre, Loire, and Saint Bris) were investigated in terms of (i) distinctiveness of country of origin, (ii) odour profile, and (iii) the concept of typicality (Ballester, J., Dacremont, C., Le Fur, Y., & Etievant, P. (2005). The role of olfaction in the elaboration and use of the Chardonnay wine concept. Food Quality and Preference, 16, 351–359). Twenty-three experienced French wine tasters (12 Oenology students and 11 Flavour Panellists), with no prior experience of Marlborough Sauvignon blanc wine, evaluated six French and six Marlborough Sauvignon blanc wines by ortho-nasal olfaction. A range of tasks was employed including descriptive profiling and sorting into categories based on origin of wine. The data were subjected to multivariate analyses. Principal components analysis of descriptive data showed that (i) wines were separable by country of origin (NZ or France), and (ii) clear sub-regional differences in perceived odour profile were reported for French wines, and to a lesser degree for New Zealand wines. Overall, New Zealand wines were evaluated as showing higher levels of both fruity (e.g., passionfruit) and fresh green notes (e.g., green capsicum), while French wines were judged higher on dried herbaceous characters and mineral/flinty notes. Contrary to expectation, the French participants rated New Zealand wines higher on the concept of typicality and higher on appreciation than the French wines. The results are discussed in terms of cognitive processing relevant to conceptualisation of wine typicality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Historically, wine was introduced in Vietnam by the French. Further to develop wine consumption in Vietnam, this paper examined the opinions and motivations for wine drinking in a group of Vietnamese consumers and potential consumers. Their concerns were compared with the opinions and motivations expressed by a group of participants from France, considered as a 'traditional' consumer country. Our results showed that in Vietnam wine-drinking motivations are characterised by utilitarian and symbolic aspects rather than experiential ones. Certain cultural characteristics of Vietnamese consumers are put forward to explain their motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existence of graded structure in fruit and flower odour categories and its stability in different cultures is examined. Groups of students from France, the United States, and Vietnam performed a typicality rating task, a similarity judgment task, a membership verification task, a recognition memory task, a familiarity rating task, and a free identification task using a set of 40 odorants (20 fruit odorants and 20 flower odorants). Overall, our results demonstrate that fruit and flower odour categories possess graded structure. Moreover, principal component analyses of the data revealed the implication of typicality in a variety of cognitive tasks where typical odours receive a preferential processing compared to atypical ones. Finally, our results suggest that typicality can be predicted to a certain extent by experiential knowledge but that other determinants play a role in odour category structure. Altogether, this study confirms that graded structure is a universal property of categories and suggests that universals and cultural specifics can both constrain the emergence of odour category structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Britons did not experience significant changes in alcohol consumption patterns. • Spaniards experienced decreases on alcohol consumption due to the absence of their usual social contexts. • British and Spaniards were compared concerning alcohol consumption patterns during the lockdown. • Cultural responses to social distancing and lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic were studied. During the early months of 2020, the world experienced a novel, violent, and relentless pandemic era. By the end of the year more than seventy-seven million cases of COVID-19 had been reported around the globe. Due to it being a highly contagious disease, the recommended measures adopted by most nations to prevent infection include social distancing and quarantine. How did these measures affect people's relationship with alcohol consumption in cultures where alcohol plays an important social role? A questionnaire-based study, designed to follow the drinking behaviour of people before and during lockdown was applied to two different cultural groups impacted by the pandemic during the strict phase of lockdown. These are the British and Spanish populations (179 participants from each country were interviewed). Considering the frequency of consumption of the alcoholic beverages evaluated (wine, beer, cider, whisky and spirits), the results showed that a significant lockdown*country interaction was observed. Overall, Spanish participants consumed alcoholic beverages less frequently during lockdown than before, while British participants reported no change in their consumption habits. Spaniards' decrease in alcohol consumption is related to the absence of a social contexts while Britons seems to have adapted their consumption to the modified context. Results suggest that, alcohol consumption is a central core of the British culture, while for the Spanish, socialization is more a cultural characteristic than the alcohol itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Do beer experts have better recognition memory for beers than novices? And can recognition memory for beers be predicted on the basis of recognition memory for beer odor compounds? We compared the memory performance of “beer experts” and novices in two recognition tasks. The first task was performed ortho- and retronasally with beers, and the second orthonasally with beer odor compounds. As a control we also compared the performance of “experts” and novices on an identification task and a same/different discrimination task. “Beer experts” outperformed novices in both the identification task and the recognition memory task with both beers and odor compounds, but only for beers they had been trained on (familiar beers), and regardless of the type of odors (familiar vs. unfamiliar). “Experts” were only marginally superior in the beer discrimination task. This suggests that the experts’ advantage in recognition memory is likely to have its source in more efficient coding and retrieval in long-term memory, rather than in better perceptual ability. No significant correlation was found between odor and beer memory performance, which suggests that, during training, “experts” might develop independent memory structures for odor compounds and for beers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In this paper we present a new method called distatis that can be applied to the analysis of sorting data. Distatis is a generalization of classical multidimensional scaling which allows one to analyze 3-ways distance tables. When used for analyzing sorting tasks, distatis takes into account individual sorting data. Specifically, when distatis is used to analyze the results of an experiment in which several assessors sort a set of products, we obtain two types of maps: One for the assessors and one for the products. In these maps, the proximity between two points reflects their similarity, and therefore these maps can be read using the same rules as standard metric multidimensional scaling methods or principal component analysis. Technically, distatis starts by transforming the individual sorting data into cross-product matrices as in classical mds and evaluating the similarity between these matrices (using Escoufier’s R V coefficient). Then it computes a compromise matrix which is the best aggregate (in the least square sense, as statis does) of the individual cross-product matrices and analyzes it with pca. The individual matrices are then projected onto the compromise space. In this paper, we present a short tutorial, and we illustrate how to use distatis with a sorting task in which ten assessors evaluated eight beers. We also provide some insights into how distatis evaluates the similarity between assessors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Previous work showed that trained assessors are better at discriminating and describing familiar chemico-sensorial stimuli than novices. In this study, we evaluated whether this superiority holds true for new stimuli. We first trained a group of subjects to characterize beer flavors over a two year period. After training was accomplished, we compared the performance of these trained assessors with the performance of novice subjects for discrimination and matching tasks. The tasks were performed using both well-learned and new beers. Trained assessors outperformed novices in the discrimination task for learned beers but not for new beers. But on the matching task, trained assessors outperformed novices for both learned and new beers. These results suggest that perceptual learning is harder to generalize than verbal learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]