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Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging

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A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensory and Consumer Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 March 2021) | Viewed by 61953

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Dr. Damir Torrico

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Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
Interests: sensory evaluation; consumer science; product development; statistical analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sensory analysis is used to evaluate the quality and acceptability of foods, beverages, and packaging. However, sensory tests rely on the analysis of self-reported responses to measure the various sensory parameters. Nevertheless, self-reported inputs can be generally affected by cognitive biases, which, in some cases, can significantly affect the decision-making around the evaluated products. Biometric techniques based on non-invasive instruments and video/image analyses of subjects could incorporate physiological and/or subconscious responses in the study of consumers. There is a growing interest in understanding the role of physiological reactions of participants toward the sensory assessments of foods, beverages, and packaging. Some of these responses include heart rate, body temperature, and emotions based on facial expressions (happy, sad, disgusted, and scared).
Sensory laboratories also use isolated booth environments that are designed to control against the effects of non-product factors such as the external aromas, light distractions, and noises of various surrounding environments. However, some researchers argue that this setting (booths) does not represent the actual conditions in which consumers taste their products. Highly controlled testing conditions may lack ecological validity that can lead to a biased evaluation of the sensory attributes by consumers. Recently, the use of virtual reality (VR) environments has become popular for testing the effects of context on the sensory experience. Sensory analysis of foods, beverages, and packaging will need to incorporate quantitative aspects of culture, behavior/mood, and environment, which require novel approaches.
This Special Issue of Foods aims to provide a deeper understanding of novel techniques to measure the different sensory, emotional, and physiological responses toward different foods, beverages, and packaging. Besides, submissions that incorporate the use of novel instruments such as virtual reality, augmented reality, video/image analyses, and other innovative procedures are particularly encouraged.

Dr. Damir Torrico
Guest Editor

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Keywords

Sensory perception
Consumer test
Physiological responses
Emotional responses
Eye-tracking
Virtual reality
Contextual cues
Biometrics
Novel sensory techniques

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 171 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological Responses of Consumers toward Foods

by Damir D. Torrico

Foods 2021, 10(11), 2620; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10112620 - 29 Oct 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2176

Abstract

Sensory science is an evolving field that has been incorporating technologies from different disciplines [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

19 pages, 1211 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Consumer Acceptance of a Ready-to-Eat Meal during Storage as Evaluated with a Home-Use Test

by Maria Laura Montero, Dolores Garrido, R. Karina Gallardo, Juming Tang and Carolyn F. Ross

Foods 2021, 10(7), 1623; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10071623 - 13 Jul 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4305

Abstract

A home-use test (HUT) is one method that provides a measure of ecological validity as the product is consumed in home under common daily use circumstances. One product that benefits from being evaluated in-home are ready-to-eat (RTE) meals. This study determined consumer acceptance of microwave-thermally-pasteurized jambalaya, a multi-meat and vegetable dish from American Cajun cuisine, and a control (cooked frozen jambalaya) through an on-line home-use test (HUT) over a 12-week storage period. Paralleling the HUT, an online auction determined consumers’ willingness to pay. The study also explored how the social environment may impact the liking of the meals when a partner of the participants joined the sensory evaluation of the meals. Consumers (n = 50) evaluated microwave-processed jambalaya stored at 2 °C and a control (cooked frozen jambalaya stored at −31 °C) after 2, 8 and 12 weeks of storage. Consumer liking of different sensory attributes was measured. Participants could choose to share the meals with a partner as a way to enhance ecological validity. The responses from 21 partners to the sensory-related questions were collected. After the sensory evaluation, the participants bid on the meal they had just sampled. Results showed that processing method (microwave vs. control) did not significantly influence the measured sensory attributes. Only flavor liking decreased over storage time (p < 0.05). The inclusion of partners significantly increased (p = 0.04) the liking of the appearance of the meals. The mean values of the bids for the meals ranged from $3.33–3.74, matching prices of commercially available jambalaya meals. This study found suggests that the shelf- life of microwave-processed meals could be extended up to 12 weeks without changing its overall liking. The study also shows the importance of exploring HUT methodology for the evaluation of consumers’ acceptance of microwave-processed jambalaya and how including a partner could contribute to enhance ecological validity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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12 pages, 2177 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Measuring Implicit Approach–Avoidance Tendencies towards Food Using a Mobile Phone outside the Lab

by Anne-Marie Brouwer, Jasper J. van Beers, Priya Sabu, Ivo V. Stuldreher, Hilmar G. Zech and Daisuke Kaneko

Foods 2021, 10(7), 1440; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10071440 - 22 Jun 2021

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2739

Abstract

Implicit (‘unconscious’) approach–avoidance tendencies towards stimuli can be measured using the Approach Avoidance Task (AAT). We recently expanded a toolbox for analyzing the raw data of a novel, mobile version of the AAT (mAAT), that asks participants to move their phone towards their face (pull) or away (push) in response to images presented on the phone. We here tested the mAAT reaction time and the mAAT distance in a study with 71 Dutch participants that were recruited online and performed an experiment without coming to the laboratory. The participants used both the mAAT and (explicit) rating scales to respond to photographic images of food. As hypothesized, the rated wanting, rated valence and mAAT reaction time indicated a preference for palatable over unpalatable food, and for Dutch over Asian food. Additionally, as expected, arousal was rated higher for unpalatable than for palatable food, and higher for Dutch than for Asian food. The mAAT distance indicated that the unpalatable food images were moved across larger distances, regardless of the movement direction (pull or push), compared to the palatable food images; and the Dutch food images were moved across larger distances than the Asian food images. We conclude that the mAAT can be used to implicitly probe approach–avoidance motivation for complex images in the food domain. The new measure of mAAT distance may be used as an implicit measure of arousal. The ratings and the mAAT measures do not reflect the exact same information and may complement each other. Implicit measures, such as mAAT variables, are particularly valuable when response biases that can occur when using explicit ratings are expected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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13 pages, 1630 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reading Food Experiences from the Face: Effects of Familiarity and Branding of Soy Sauce on Facial Expressions and Video-Based RPPG Heart Rate

by Rene A. de Wijk, Shota Ushiama, Meeke Ummels, Patrick Zimmerman, Daisuke Kaneko and Monique H. Vingerhoeds

Foods 2021, 10(6), 1345; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10061345 - 10 Jun 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3345

Abstract

Food experiences are not only driven by the food’s intrinsic properties, such as its taste, texture, and aroma, but also by extrinsic properties such as visual brand information and the consumers’ previous experiences with the foods. Recent developments in automated facial expression analysis and heart rate detection based on skin color changes (remote photoplethysmography or RPPG) allow for the monitoring of food experiences based on video images of the face. RPPG offers the possibility of large-scale non-laboratory and web-based testing of food products. In this study, results from the video-based analysis were compared to the more conventional tests (scores of valence and arousal using Emojis and photoplethysmography heart rate (PPG)). Forty participants with varying degrees of familiarity with soy sauce were presented with samples of rice and three commercial soy sauces with and without brand information. The results showed that (1) liking and arousal were affected primarily by the specific tastes, but not by branding and familiarity. In contrast, facial expressions were affected by branding and familiarity, and to a lesser degree by specific tastes. (2) RPPG heart rate and PPG both showed effects of branding and familiarity. However, RPPG heart rate needs further development because it underestimated the heart rate compared to PPG and was less sensitive to changes over time and with activity (viewing of brand information and tasting). In conclusion, this study suggests that recording of facial expressions and heart rates may no longer be limited to laboratories but can be done remotely using video images, which offers opportunities for large-scale testing in consumer science. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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17 pages, 5120 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Differences in Hedonic Responses, Facial Expressions and Self-Reported Emotions of Consumers Using Commercial Yogurts: A Cross-Cultural Study

by Mitali Gupta, Damir D. Torrico, Graham Hepworth, Sally L. Gras, Lydia Ong, Jeremy J. Cottrell and Frank R. Dunshea

Foods 2021, 10(6), 1237; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10061237 - 29 May 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5565

Abstract

Hedonic scale testing is a well-accepted methodology for assessing consumer perceptions but is compromised by variation in voluntary responses between cultures. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) methods using emotion terms or emojis and facial expression recognition (FER) are emerging as more powerful tools for consumer sensory testing as they may offer improved assessment of voluntary and involuntary responses, respectively. Therefore, this experiment compared traditional hedonic scale responses for overall liking to (1) CATA emotions, (2) CATA emojis and (3) FER. The experiment measured voluntary and involuntary responses from 62 participants of Asian (53%) versus Western (47%) origin, who consumed six divergent yogurt formulations (Greek, drinkable, soy, coconut, berry, cookies). The hedonic scales could discriminate between yogurt formulations but could not distinguish between responses across the cultural groups. Aversive responses to formulations were the easiest to characterize for all methods; the hedonic scale was the only method that could not characterize differences in cultural preferences, with CATA emojis displaying the highest level of discrimination. In conclusion, CATA methods, particularly the use of emojis, showed improved characterization of cross-cultural preferences of yogurt formulations compared to hedonic scales and FER. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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10 pages, 799 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Effects of Immersive Virtual Reality Environments on Sensory Perception of Beef Steaks and Chocolate

by Emily Crofton, Niall Murray and Cristina Botinestean

Foods 2021, 10(6), 1154; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10061154 - 21 May 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4922

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology is emerging as a tool for simulating different eating environments to better understand consumer sensory response to food. This research explored the impact of different environmental contexts on participants’ hedonic ratings of two different food products: beef steaks, and milk chocolate, using VR as the context-enhancing technology. Two separate studies were conducted. For beef, two different contextual conditions were compared: traditional sensory booths and a VR restaurant. For chocolate, data were generated under three different contextual conditions: traditional sensory booths, VR Irish countryside; VR busy city (Dublin, Ireland). All VR experiences were 360-degree video based. Consumer level of engagement in the different contextual settings was also investigated. The results showed that VR had a significant effect on participants’ hedonic responses to the food products. Beef was rated significantly higher in terms of liking for all sensory attributes when consumed in the VR restaurant. While for chocolate, the VR countryside context generated significantly higher hedonic scores for flavour and overall liking in comparison to the sensory booth. Taken together, both studies demonstrate how specific contextual settings can impact participants’ sensory response to food products, when compared to a traditional sensory laboratory condition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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17 pages, 1428 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Self-Reported Emotions and Facial Expressions on Consumer Acceptability: A Study Using Energy Drinks

by Annu Mehta, Chetan Sharma, Madhuri Kanala, Mishika Thakur, Roland Harrison and Damir Dennis Torrico

Foods 2021, 10(2), 330; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10020330 - 4 Feb 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4870

Abstract

Emotional responses elicited by foods are of great interest for new product developers and marketing professionals, as consumer acceptance proved to be linked to the emotions generated by the product in the consumers. An emotional measurement is generally considered an appropriate tool to differentiate between the products of similar nutritional value, flavour, liking and packaging. Novel methods used to measure emotions include self-reporting verbal and visual measurements, and facial expression techniques. This study aimed to evaluate the explicit and implicit emotional response elicited during the tasting of two different brands (A and B) of energy drinks. The explicit response of consumers was assessed using liking (nine-point hedonic scale), and emotions (EsSense Profile^®—Check-All-That-Apply questionnaire), and implicit emotional responses were evaluated by studying facial expressions using the Affectiva Affdex^® software. The familiarity of the product and purchase intent were also assessed during the study. The hedonic rating shows a significant difference in liking between the two brands of energy drink during the tasting session. For the explicit emotional responses, participants elicited more positive emotions than the negative emotions for both energy drinks. However, participants expressed “happy”, “active” and “eager” emotions more frequently for energy drink A. On the other hand, the implicit emotional responses through facial expressions indicated a high level of involvement of the participants with energy drink B as compared to energy drink A. The study showed that overall liking and the explicit and implicit emotional measurements are weakly to moderately correlated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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17 pages, 10010 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Non-Invasive Biometrics and Machine Learning Modeling to Obtain Sensory and Emotional Responses from Panelists during Entomophagy

by Sigfredo Fuentes, Yin Y. Wong and Claudia Gonzalez Viejo

Foods 2020, 9(7), 903; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9070903 - 9 Jul 2020

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4583

Abstract

Insect-based food products offer a more sustainable and environmentally friendly source of protein compared to plant and animal proteins. Entomophagy is less familiar for Non-Asian cultural backgrounds and is associated with emotions such as disgust and anger, which is the basis of neophobia towards these products. Tradicional sensory evaluation may offer some insights about the liking, visual, aroma, and tasting appreciation, and purchase intention of insect-based food products. However, more robust methods are required to assess these complex interactions with the emotional and subconscious responses related to cultural background. This study focused on the sensory and biometric responses of consumers towards insect-based food snacks and machine learning modeling. Results showed higher liking and emotional responses for those samples containing insects as ingredients (not visible) and with no insects. A lower liking and negative emotional responses were related to samples showing the insects. Artificial neural network models to assess liking based on biometric responses showed high accuracy for different cultures (>92%). A general model for all cultures with an 89% accuracy was also achieved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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16 pages, 10700 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Beer and Consumer Response Using Biometrics: Associations Assessment of Beer Compounds and Elicited Emotions

by Claudia Gonzalez Viejo, Raúl Villarreal-Lara, Damir D. Torrico, Yaressi G. Rodríguez-Velazco, Zamantha Escobedo-Avellaneda, Perla A. Ramos-Parra, Ronit Mandal, Anubhav Pratap Singh, Carmen Hernández-Brenes and Sigfredo Fuentes

Foods 2020, 9(6), 821; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9060821 - 22 Jun 2020

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 6359

Abstract

Some chemical compounds, especially alcohol, sugars, and alkaloids such as hordenine, have been reported as elicitors of different emotional responses. This preliminary study was based on six commercial beers selected according to their fermentation type, with two beers of each type (spontaneous, bottom, and top). Chemometry and sensory analysis were performed for all samples to determine relationships and patterns between chemical composition and emotional responses from consumers. The results showed that sweeter samples were associated with higher perceived liking by consumers and positive emotions, which corresponded to spontaneous fermentation beers. There was high correlation (R = 0.91; R² = 0.83) between hordenine and alcohol content. Beers presenting higher concentrations of both, and higher bitterness, were related to negative emotions. Further studies should be conducted, giving more time for emotional response analysis between beer samples, and comparing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beers with similar styles, to separate the effects of alcohol and hordenine. This preliminary study was a first attempt to associate beer compounds with the emotional responses of consumers using non-invasive biometrics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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19 pages, 4284 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Virtual Reality and Immersive Environments on Sensory Perception of Chocolate Products: A Preliminary Study

by Yanzhuo Kong, Chetan Sharma, Madhuri Kanala, Mishika Thakur, Lu Li, Dayao Xu, Roland Harrison and Damir D. Torrico

Foods 2020, 9(4), 515; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9040515 - 20 Apr 2020

Cited by 38 | Viewed by 9002

Abstract

Traditional booths where sensory evaluation usually takes place are highly controlled and therefore have limited ecological validity. Since virtual reality (VR) is substantially interactive and engaging, it has the potential to be applied in sensory science. In this preliminary study, three chocolate types (milk, white, and dark) were evaluated under three contextual settings, including sensory booths (control) and two VR environments (360-degree videos using VR headsets: (i) a pleasant sightseeing tour, and (ii) a live music concert). Untrained participants (n = 67) were asked to rate their liking and the intensity of different chocolate attributes based on the 9-point hedonic scale and just-about-right-scale (JAR). Emotions were evaluated using the check-all-that-apply (CATA) method. Results showed that there were no significant effects of context type on the tasting experience; however, there were significant effects of chocolate type. Milk and white chocolates were preferred over dark chocolate irrespective of the context type. Additionally, more positive emotions were elicited for the dark chocolate in the “virtual live concert” environment. Dark chocolate under the other two environments was associated with negative emotional terms, such as “bored” and “worried.” In terms of more reliable and ecologically valid sensory responses, further research is needed to match suitable VR environments to different chocolate types. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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17 pages, 2306 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of Context and Virtual Reality Environments on the Wine Tasting Experience, Acceptability, and Emotional Responses of Consumers

by Damir D. Torrico, Yitao Han, Chetan Sharma, Sigfredo Fuentes, Claudia Gonzalez Viejo and Frank R. Dunshea

Foods 2020, 9(2), 191; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9020191 - 14 Feb 2020

Cited by 50 | Viewed by 8988

Abstract

Wine tasting is a multidimensional experience that includes contextual information from tasting environments. Formal sensory tastings are limited by the use of booths that lack ecological validity and engagement. Virtual reality (VR) can overcome this limitation by simulating different environmental contexts. Perception, sensory acceptability, and emotional responses of a Cabernet Sauvignon wine under traditional sensory booths, contextual environments, and VR simulations were evaluated and compared. Participants (N = 53) performed evaluations under five conditions: (1) traditional booths, (2) bright-restaurant (real environment with bright lights), (3) dark-restaurant (real environment with dimly lit candles), (4) bright-VR (VR restaurant with bright lights), and (5) dark-VR (VR restaurant with dimly lit candles). Participants rated the acceptability of aroma, sweetness, acidity, astringency, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and overall liking (9-point hedonic scale), and intensities of sweetness, acidity, and astringency (15-point unstructured line-scale). Results showed that context (booths, real, or VR) affected the perception of the wine’s floral aroma (dark-VR = 8.6 vs. booths = 7.5). Liking of the sensory attributes did not change under different environmental conditions. Emotional responses under bright-VR were associated with “free”, “glad”, and “enthusiastic”; however, under traditional booths, they were related to “polite” and “secure”. “Nostalgic” and “daring” were associated with dark-VR. VR can be used to understand contextual effects on consumer perceptions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Techniques to Measure the Sensory, Emotional, and Physiological (Biometric) Responses of Consumers toward Foods and Packaging)

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