Quality Control of Sweeteners: Production, Handling, and Storage - Sweeteners: Nutritional Aspects, Applications, and Production Technology - page 286

9.19 SeNSOrY aNaLYSIS MethODS
9.19.1 Consumer preference test
Individualvariationintheperceptionofsaccharinhasbeenrelatedtogeneticsensitivitytothe
bitterness of 6-n-propylthiouracil (PROP).However, data on otherintense sweeteners aresparse,
particularly when tasted in real foods. The objectives of this study were to identify the sensory
attributesofintensesweetenersthatinluencedtheperceptionandacceptabilityofcitrus-lavored
modelsoftdrinksandtoinvestigatetheinluenceofPROPtasterstatusontheseresponses(Zhao
andTepper2007).Thesweetenerswere10%and8%HFCS(controls),sucralose(SUC),aspartame
(ASP), acesulfame K (ACE), ASP/ACE, and SUC/ACE. Twenty-nine PROP nontasters (NT) and
30PROPsupertasters(ST)ratednineattributesforintensityandliking.Datawereanalyzedusing
principalcomponentanalysis(PCA).Thesweetenersweredescribedinthreedimensions.Factor1
wasabitter-citruscontrastforwhichoveralllikingwasassociatedwithhighercitrusimpactand
lowerbitterness.Factors2and3wererelatedtooveralllavorandcarbonation,respectively.
ThesensoryproilesofASP,ASP/ACE,andSUCweremostsimilarto10%HFCS.SUC/ACE
wasmorebitterandlessacceptablethan10%HFCS;ACEwasthemostbitterandwastheleast
liked.PCAalsorevealedthatNTplacedmoreemphasisontheperceptionofsweetnessandcitrus
lavor(Factor1,37%variance),whereasSTtastersplacedmoreemphasisonbitterness(Factor1,
43%variance).
LikingwasuniquelyrelatedtolowerbitternessforNT.ForST,likingwasnegativelyrelated
tobitternessandweaklypositivelyrelatedtopersistenceofsweetness.ThesedatasuggestthatST
experiencesintensesweetenersdifferentfromNT,butthesedifferencesplayaminorroleinsoft
drinkacceptance.
Thebeverageindustryfrequentlyusessweetenerblendstoovercomethesensorylimitationsof
individualsweeteners.Blendingtakesadvantageofthephenomenonofsynergyamongsweeteners.
Synergy is typically observed for sweeteners that exhibit different lavor proiles, particularly if
oneofthesweetenersisbitter.Blendingtendstoenhancethesweeteningpowerbeyondthesumof
theindividualsweeteners,creatinganimprovedlavorproile.Typicalblendsincludeaspartame-
saccharin,aspartame-acesulfameK,andsucralose-acesulfameK(MeyerandRiha2002;O'Brien-
Nabors2001,2002).
Forty subjects participated in each of two experiments in which both lemon-lime- and cola-
lavored beverages containing one of the sixsweeteners—sucrose, sodium saccharin,aspartame,
acesulfameK,andtwocalciumcyclamate/sodiumsaccharinblends(10:1and3.5:1)—wereevalu-
atedonsimilarityandadjectivescales,asreportedbySchiffman,Crofton,andBeeker(1985).The
similaritydatasuggestdrinkscontainingsucroseandaspartamecannotbediscriminatedfromone
anotherineitheralemon-limeorcolamediuminthisexperimentaldesign.Sucroseandaspartame
werealsostatisticallyequivalentoneveryadjectivescaleforbothlemon-limeandcoladrinks.On
bothsimilarityjudgments-andadjectivescales,acesulfameKandsodiumsaccharinweremostdif-
ferentfromsucrose.Thecalciumcyclamate/sodiumsaccharinblendstendedtobelesssimilarthan
aspartamebutnotasdifferentfromsucroseastheacesulfameK-orsodiumsaccharin-sweetened
beverages.
Measurementsofapparentspeciicvolume(ASV),anindexoftastemodality,i.e.,salty,sweet,
bitter,andsour,andevenoftasteacceptabilityforaseriesofalternativesweeteners(cyclamates,
sulfamates, saccharins, acesulfames, and anilinomethanesulfonates) have been made (Birch
et al. 2004). Taste data have been obtained for many of the new compounds, unless the toxic-
ity of the associated metals precluded this. Apparent molar volume (AMV), isentropic speciic
(IASC), and isentropic molar (IAMC) compressibilities were also measured. Sixteen metallic
cyclamatescyc-C 6 H 11 NHSO 3 MandtwophenylsulfamatesArNHSO 3 Na,namely,3,5-dimethyl-and