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Dynamic sensory techniques have strongly evolved in the last decades, seeking to recreate the consumer's experience as similarly as possible to reality. To achieve a better comprehension of the dynamic interaction between different food pairings in terms of both, sensory perception and consumers' emotional response, food pairings of chocolate with three different beverages, coffee, vermouth and wine, were assessed by means of a multi-intake protocol. Results showed the effect of successive intakes in the different pairings along time, demonstrating that dynamic methodologies are required to capture the complete evaluation of the pairing combination, for either sensory perception or emotional response. The results herein observed, strongly suggest a dynamic relation between the sensations perceived in each food pairing and the evoked emotions along time. This research also has shown that the application of the multi-bite and multi-sip protocol is suitable for the detection of variations in the sensations and emotions elicited by the food pairing consumption through time.

Vivimos en una sociedad en la que las personas mayores cada vez corresponden a un porcentaje mayor de la población. La longevidad del país está en continuo incremento y esto puede derivar en un mayor desarrollo de enfermedades propias de la tercera edad. La alimentación juega un papel clave en este ámbito por lo que el presente estudio se ha dedicado a la búsqueda de los factores que inciden en las decisiones de compra y consumo de adultos mayores. Se han encontrado numerosos elementos que podrían ser motivo de estas decisiones, pero se querrían destacar los siguientes cuatro: deterioro fisiológico y psicológico, cambios en el entorno del hogar y variación de la situación laboral. Por otro lado, uno de los mayores problemas ligados a la alimentación que se ha determinado que sufren las personas mayores es la pérdida de masa muscular. Esta enfermedad, denominada sarcopenia, está ligada a la reducción de la ingesta de proteínas. De esta manera, se ha investigado cuáles son los conocimientos que tienen los adultos mayores sobre las proteínas y en qué cantidades las consumen. Se ha observado que hay una clara falta de información sobre este nutriente y también una deficiencia en su ingesta.

El presente trabajo de fin de grado tiene como objetivo principal crear un protocolo estandarizado con la técnica de análisis sensorial TDS (Temporal Dominance of Sensations, Dominancia Temporal de Sensaciones) para estudiar el maridaje de varios productos de la Comunidad de Madrid: chocolate negro con cuatro bebidas (vino, cerveza, café y vermut). En el contexto de la aplicación del TDS hay actualmente pocos estudios que profundizan en la evaluación mediante esta técnica con maridajes. Los artículos actuales que utilizan esta técnica se centran más en caracterizar o diferenciar productos que en las sensaciones percibidas por el catador en cada instante. Este trabajo, enmarcado en un proyecto de investigación del IMIDRA de la Comunidad de Madrid, aborda tanto procesos de evaluación estáticos (en la generación del perfil descriptivo de cada producto) como dinámicos (en la técnica TDS). Para ello, ha sido necesario el entrenamiento de un panel de jueces durante varias sesiones. En la primera fase del estudio, 12 jueces llevaron a cabo la generación del perfil descriptivo. Dicha fase permitió seleccionar los productos y atrubutos que se usarían después para el TDS. Los productos elegidos fueron un chocolate 72% sin azúcares añadidos, vino tinto Cepas Viejas, cerveza Morena, café Colombia Caturro y vermut rojo Tradicional. En una segunda fase, un panel de 13 jueces participó en las sesiones de TDS, presentando a los catadores una lista de descriptores de los cuales elegían el que ellos consideraran más dominante en cualquier momento del consumo de un alimento. Definiéndose como dominante al atributo más acusado en un momento determinado, no necesariamente el más intenso. A lo largo de la cata del alimento podían elegir varios atributos, pero solo uno en cada momento específico Y, por último, mediante la representación en gráficas, se obtuvieron los resultados que han sido desarrollados en este estudio. Los principales resultados obtenidos por TDS, mostraron que la inges

Uno de los mayores retos que tienen los responsables de las políticas públicas es conseguir que los consumidores elijan una opción más saludable a la hora de comprar. El etiquetado frontal del envase permite a los consumidores conocer la calidad nutricional de los alimentos en el momento de la compra. La aplicación para teléfonos móviles llamada Yuka ofrece una evaluación de la composición nutricional de los productos alimenticios utilizando Nutri-Score como algoritmo. Yuka permite a los consumidores escanear fácilmente el código de barras del producto, proporcionando una puntuación y una breve descripción nutricional. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el efecto de la aplicación Yuka en la respuesta de los consumidores. Se realizó una encuesta online a 403 consumidores en la que se mostraban imágenes de ocho alimentos diferentes, cuatro platos preparados (pizza de jamón y queso, ensalada de la casa, ensalada ligera con york y queso y fabada asturiana) y cuatro postres (yogur griego, yogur natural, helado de chocolate y bote de piña). Se pidió a los participantes que calificaran la aceptabilidad, la intención de compra y la percepción saludable que causaba cada producto. Para comparar el efecto de la aplicación Yuka, el grupo se dividió en dos, a uno de ellos se le presentaba la imagen acompañada de la información Yuka y al otro sin la información Yuka. En el contexto de los ocho productos explorados, se encontraron efectos significativos de la información Yuka sobre la aceptabilidad, la percepción saludable y la intención de compra, tanto en las comidas preparadas como en los postres. En general, el aumento de la aceptabilidad, la percepción saludable y la intención de compra se asociaron a la condición de información. Sin embargo, hubo excepciones en algunos productos. Por ejemplo, en el caso de la "Ensalada de jamón york y queso", no sólo disminuyó la percepción saludable de los consumidores de este producto en la condición informada, sino que también lo hizo

Overweight is one of the main health problems associated with food habits, and has been associated with decreasing levels of wellbeing. Determining the influence of foods on people's perceived wellbeing could help understanding food choices, and therefore promoting healthy habits. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of a gastronomically improved menu on consumers' perceived wellbeing. Two weight loss diet menus were designed with the same ingredients and caloric content; one of them was a traditional menu, and the other one was gastronomically improved: appearance, textures, and flavors were enhanced. Both menus were tasted in a real context by 71 women who had been on a weight loss diet during the last year. Consumers attended the study two different days during consecutive weeks. Participants rated liking and perceived wellbeing after the consumption of each menu. The gastronomic improvement of the meal increased liking scores and perceived wellbeing of consumers, particularly in the emotional, social and spiritual dimensions.

The development of emotional lexicons can be seen as a time- and resource-consuming activity. Several rapid methods have been developed for time-restricted studies, but the suitability of these methodologies in the development of emotional lexicons compared to conventional ones has not been investigated. The aim of this study was to test the suitability of a rapid method, as it is the Sorting Task, for emotional lexicon development compared to a conventional procedure. For this purpose, two different approaches (conventional vs rapid-method) were tested to evaluate wines. 222 consumers participated in the lexicon development procedure. A common phase of generation and filtering of the terms was carried out for the development of both lexicons. Then, two approaches were used, one applying the procedures proposed in the literature (conventional, herein as Lexicon I) and the other applying Sorting Task (rapid-method, herein as Lexicon II). To test both lexicons, consumer studies (n = 185) were conducted using a set of seven commercial wines. Both methods were helpful in discriminating emotional responses. Lexicon I reported a wine effect for 10 of the 13 emotional categories, while the Lexicon II discriminated the samples in all 15 categories. Although multifactorial analysis showed a high agreement between configurations (RV = 0.985), the emotional map of both lexicons did not follow the theoretical circumplex model of emotions. SADNESS and NOSTALGIA feelings were related to the second axis. In conclusion, both methods provided similar maps of wines, but Lexicon II was more efficient in terms of time and resources during the lexicon development.

In order to determine if inter-individual differences in saliva composition and flow influence the perception of specific aromatic stimuli elicited by esters after wine consumption, ten individuals were selected and instructed in the recognition of four aromatic stimuli elicited by four ester compounds, which were added to a rosé wine. The whole panel was firstly characterised by their salivary flow, composition (pH, total protein content, macro- and micro- minerals) and rheological properties (viscosity), and secondly, the panellists were trained in a dynamic sensory method for the evaluation of retronasal aroma intensity at discrete time intervals (5, 60, 120, and 180 s) after wine expectoration. Significant inter-individual differences (p < 0.05) in saliva composition were found in most salivary parameters. Differences in the intensity ratings among individuals were also found for the four aroma attributes. Spearman correlation analysis between saliva parameters and aroma intensity over time showed a strong positive correlation between salivary flow and aroma perception for some aroma and time points. This correlation was higher in the immediate than in the long lasting perception and greater for aroma attributes elicited by short chain length esters (isoamyl acetate, ethyl butanoate and ethyl hexanoate) (than for attributes elicited by larger esters (ethyl decanoate).

Studies related to the measurement of the emotional response and its relationship with preferences and consumer behavior are gaining relevance in the last years. Some of them have highlighted the influence of individual factors, such as personality, on the evoked emotions. The current study examined the relationship between personality traits and the emotions elicited by different wine samples. Six wines were assessed by 175 consumers in terms of hedonic and emotional response, using 9-point scale and EsSense25 respectively. Consumers were clustered into four personality segments according to their personality traits which were determined using the Big Five Inventory method. Results showed an association between the psychological profile and the elicited emotions. A strong effect of personality on the emotional response elicited by the wine samples was found on 14 emotions. In addition, a significant effect was found for six emotions when studying the sample effect. The main relationships between personality and emotions were found in two consumers’ segments: G1 characterized by higher ratings on the Neuroticism dimension, was more related to negative emotions than G4. On the contrary, G4, defined by higher ratings on Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Consciousness, was more related to positive emotions than G1. No significant interactions between wine and personality were identified, meaning that the effect of personality did not change significantly across wines. Splitting the consumers’ panel depending on their personality profile allowed obtaining a deeper overview and a further understanding of the emotions evoked by wines.

To explore the role of phenolic compounds in oral aroma release during wine tasting, four rosé wines supplemented with three types of commercial phenolic extracts and a control wine were evaluated. Wines were aromatized with a mixture of six target aroma compounds. -In vivo oral aroma release was monitored in six volunteers at two different times after wine rinsing, just after spitting of the wine (immediate release), and four minutes later (prolonged release). To check the sensory meaning of these changes, descriptive analysis using a trained panel (n = 10) was also performed. Results showed a strong individual effect on total oral aroma release at the two sampling points. After the oral exposure to wines with phenolic extracts, a lower release of most target aroma compounds was also determined. Lower intensity scores for some aroma attributes in wines with phenolic extracts were found, showing a good agreement between the two scientific approaches.

Verbal self-report emotion measures in sensory and consumer science commonly include a long lexicon of terms with an associated potential for participant boredom and fatigue. This study assessed the effectiveness of reducing the number of terms in a product-specific lexicon by comparing a reduced form to a full form. The relative abilities of each lexicon to discriminate between beer samples were evaluated. Focus groups of UK beer consumers generated 43 emotion terms in response to a set of sensorially distinct lager samples. These terms were used by the participants to individually rate their emotional responses to lager samples. Cluster analysis, modified via linguistic checks, was used to group terms by similarity into emotion categories. Nine categories were defined which became the reduced lexicon. Subsequently, naïve beer consumers (n = 109) rated their emotional responses to the samples using both the full and reduced lexicons. The emotional spaces generated by both lexicons were comparable, although there were relative gains and losses in discrimination associated with each. However, overall, the forms were consistent in sample discriminability and use of the reduced emotion form was concluded to be preferable for product comparisons because of the significant savings in both time and resources.

Emotional response has been the subject of many studies during the last years. Many studies have shown the importance of using consumers to generate emotional lexicons. Chaya et al. (2015) developed a consumer defined (CD) lexicon to assess emotional response elicited by beer products. Shortly after, van Zyl and Meiselman (2015) presented a procedure to ensure that emotional lists were fully composed by emotions. The present research was developed to improve and test the lexicon developed by Chaya et al. (2015) following the approach proposed by van Zyl and Meiselman (2015). The proposed procedure allowed an easy filtering of terms for the study of emotional response. As a consequence, the test was shorter, clearer, and easier to understand and to complete by consumers. The improved emotional lexicon of beer favoured 1) the efficiency of the research in terms of discrimination among samples, 2) the simplicity of use by the consumers.

The individual preferences of 100 consumers between 20 and 30 years old for the color of 16 milk–fruit juice beverages (MFJB) were investigated by preference mapping technique. Consumers were asked to evaluate, just by looking at the samples, how much they liked them (from “Extremely dislike” to “Extremely like”). The color of the samples was analyzed by two different instrumental techniques. Results obtained from the instrumental color measurement showed the wide diversity in hues of the beverages available in the market, and correlations between techniques proved that both of them were appropriate to analyze color. Results showed that participants preferred samples with orangish appearance instead of those with a whiter look. Anyway, punctuations given by the consumers suggest that generally, color of these products is not highly evaluated by consumers, as the best mean punctuation was 6.6.