Precision of Assessment of Palatability of Foodstuffs by Laboratory Panels: Ii. Saltiness of Bacon

Abstract

Numerical ratings of the salty taste of freshly cooked portions of 80 pieces of Wiltshire-cured Canadian bacon by each member of a panel of 23 judges are analysed statistically, with results in general qualitative agreement with those previously reported for other palatability tests made in the same laboratory. Single assessments were subject to considerable random variation superimposed upon wide differences between individuals in respect of both tolerance and sensitivity. Nevertheless, a significant element of correlation made possible reproducible results, although it is calculated that to discriminate differences of the order of 5% on the organoleptic scale would have required 35 and 62 judges for intra- and inter-panel comparisons, respectively. The preferred degree of saltiness corresponded to a sodium chloride content of the cooked bacon of about [Formula: see text] in the absence, and of roughly 4% in the presence of [Formula: see text] parts per thousand of sodium nitrate.