Sensory Measurements of Taste: Aiming to Visualize Sensory Differences in Taste Perception by Consumers—An Experiential fNIRS Approach

Abstract

Especially for long-term acceptance, taste is the most important determinant to assess consumer habitual uptake of food products. Monitoring neuronal processes is expected to provide insights for hedonic preferences. The aims of this study are: (1) to find out whether and how two different taste nuances are reflected in the neuronal data and (2) to assess whether preference of two plant-based milk alternatives can be detected. In total 91 subjects underwent a tasting experiment with two different plant-based milks (oat and almond milk) and a water sample (neutral taste), while neuronal data was recorded. A relative decrease in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) during tasting was detected in parts of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). However, no differences were detected between the three samples, although the overall liking on hedonic scales differed. Hence, the assessment may have visualized the taste process activation, but could not assign a differentiated hedonic preference evaluation. For the latter a stronger polarity may be needed.

Keywords:

• Cortical activation
• fNIRS
• hedonic taste analysis
• prefrontal cortex

Author Contributions

K.L., C.M. and A.R. conceptualized the experiment. K.L., C.M. and A.R. ran the experiment. K.L. and C.M. conducted the data analysis. All authors contributed to the interpretation of the results. K.L., C.M. and A.R. wrote the manuscript. All authors gave their final approval to the submitted manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

The project on which this contribution is based was carried out in a research-oriented teaching and learning environment with the collaboration of the students C. Bartz, M. Held, L. König, M.-B. Müller C. Schlüter, A. Spreckelmeyer and H. Wever. We thank the students for their support.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (grant number: 01PL16061). The authors are responsible for the content of this publication.