Sensory characterization of conventional and organic extra virgin olive oil by Check‐all‐that‐apply and emotional responses methods

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the sensory characterization of commercial and organic extra virgin olive oils by the Check‐all‐that‐apply (CATA) and emotional responses methodologies. The samples were evaluated for viscosity and yellow color by 120 consumers using CATA, acceptance test, purchase intention test, emotional responses, and ideal scaling, allowing the construction of two External Preference Maps aimed to associate the results from the overall impression with the terms from CATA and the emotional responses. The samples Conventional 2 and Organic 2 presented greater proximity with positive descriptors and emotions, while the samples Conventional 4 and Organic 4 were correlated with negative descriptors and emotions, which was also observed in the acceptance and purchase intention tests, showing the consumers' preference for softer products. Practical application The results of this study showed that most consumers do not like the bitterness and piquancy present in olive oils. For them, the oil should be sensorially smooth. In return, they want to buy olive oils of the highest nutritional quality. This demonstrates that, most consumers are laymen and do not know that the greater the bitterness and spiciness the greater the presence of bi‐active compounds present in the products. This study makes it evident that we must inform consumers about how the sensory part is related to physical–chemical aspects of products. With the end of the study, it would be interesting for future studies, to identify the bioactive compounds present in the studied samples and to interrelate with the available sensory results.

Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) Test to Investigate the Consumers’ Perception of Olive Oil Sensory Properties: Effect of Storage Time and Packaging Material

“…In the current study, both descriptors were found to be negative drivers of liking for EVOO, despite being considered positive attributes by the official panel test method [ 19 ]. However, the fact that bitter taste was a negative driver of liking in EVOO among consumers fully confirmed several previous studies demonstrating that this sensation is generally disliked in oils [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. A recent review concluded that the sensory perception of the consumers regarding a high-quality olive oil, typically being characterized by both bitterness and pungency at different intensities, matches to the perception of panel tasters in countries with a tradition of virgin olive oils consumption, but this correlation was not observed with consumers in non-traditional olive-oil-consuming countries [ 46 ].…”

“…The CATA test has been previously applied to link consumers’ emotions to the sensory characterization of a wide range of different food products (salted snacks, potato chips, yoghurt, cheese, snack bars and fruit, nuts, chocolate, fruit, and processed tomato products) [ 49 , 50 ]. Regarding oils, CATA was recently applied to investigate the sensory characterization of commercial and organic extra virgin olive oils [ 26 ] and to evaluate the acceptability and sensory characteristics of five sesame oil samples prepared with different technological processes [ 51 ]. To the best or our knowledge, the current study is the first to apply the CATA test to evaluate consumers’ perception of the sensory properties of food products over time.…”

“…Moreover, the sensory evaluation of a trained assessor does not necessarily match with the perception of consumers [ 23 ] or consumers may not necessarily recognize that positive sensory attributes are related to the presence of healthy substances (e.g., polyphenols) [ 24 ]. For example, the perception of bitterness or pungency, which are considered positive attributes by trained assessors, may be instead disliked by consumers [ 25 , 26 , 27 ], especially among those not familiar with the sensory properties of EVOO of excellent quality [ 28 ].…”

“…Regarding rapid sensory methods, a modified version of a sorting task based on visual assessments of branded oil bottles was used with consumers to evaluate the opinions of consumers towards different oils [ 31 ]. Check-all-that-apply (CATA) was recently used with the aim of investigating oil acceptance, purchase intention, and emotional responses [ 26 ]. However, to the best of authors’ knowledge, no studies using rapid sensory techniques have been conducted yet with consumers to explore how sensory properties change during the shelf-life.…”

Sensory Profile of 3 in 1 Instant Coffee Using Emotional-Sensory Mapping, Flash Profile, and Cata (Check-All-That-Apply) Methods

“…Emotion is one of the critical factors that consumers consider when making product purchase decisions (de Melo et al, 2021;Nasermoadeli et al, 2012). Positivity in emotions can add value to a product, whereas negativity can subtract value.…”