What is the difference between objective and subjective sensory evaluation?

2 Subjective sensory evaluation

Subjective sensory evaluation is a type of sensory analysis that uses human senses, opinions, or preferences to assess the sensory attributes of food products. For example, you can use a panel of trained or untrained assessors to rate the appearance, flavor, texture, or overall liking of a food, or you can use a questionnaire or interview to collect feedback from consumers about their attitudes, motivations, or expectations regarding a food. Subjective sensory evaluation is useful for marketing, consumer research, and product optimization, as it provides valuable insights into how consumers perceive and respond to food products and how they influence their choices and behaviors.

3 Differences between objective and subjective sensory evaluation

The main difference between objective and subjective sensory evaluation is the source of information: objective sensory evaluation relies on instruments or standardized methods, while subjective sensory evaluation relies on human senses or opinions. This difference has several implications for the design, execution, and interpretation of sensory studies. For instance, objective sensory evaluation requires more technical expertise, equipment, and calibration, while subjective sensory evaluation requires more ethical considerations, recruitment, and training. Moreover, objective sensory evaluation provides more quantitative and objective data, while subjective sensory evaluation provides more qualitative and subjective data. Therefore, objective and subjective sensory evaluation have different strengths and limitations, and they should be used for different purposes and questions.

4 Choosing the best approach for your food science goals

Depending on your food science goals, you may need to use objective or subjective sensory evaluation, or a combination of both. For example, if you want to measure the physical or chemical properties of a food product, such as its shelf life, stability, or nutritional value, you should use objective sensory evaluation. If you want to measure the sensory attributes of a food product, such as its color, flavor, or texture, you can use either objective or subjective sensory evaluation, depending on the level of detail and accuracy you need. If you want to measure the consumer perception or preference of a food product, such as its acceptability, satisfaction, or loyalty, you should use subjective sensory evaluation. However, you can also use both objective and subjective sensory evaluation to complement each other and provide a more comprehensive and holistic picture of your food product and its sensory and consumer aspects.

5 Tips and best practices for sensory evaluation

Sensory evaluation is a powerful and versatile tool in food science, helping to measure and understand the sensory and consumer aspects of food products. To ensure the quality and validity of your sensory data, it is important to define your research question and objectives clearly, choose the most appropriate sensory method, follow relevant standards, select and prepare food samples carefully, train and monitor instruments or assessors, and analyze and interpret sensory data using the appropriate statistical tools. By doing so, you can conduct high-quality sensory studies that can support product development, quality control, marketing, or research activities.