Perception dynamics of grain-based ready-to-eat cereal products using TCATA
The breakdown of grain-based ready-to-eat cereals in the mouth occurs relatively quickly, but it is at this stage when the consumer experiences directly the sensory properties of the cereal. The feelings, tastes, flavors, and sounds elicited in mouth are not static. Rather, these sensations are perceived dynamically, and evolve within each bite, and over the multi-bite eating experience. Temporal check-all-that-apply (TCATA), which has recently been introduced as a temporal sensory method, extends the use of check-all-that-apply questions by allowing continuous selection of attributes based on applicability or noticeability. TCATA can permit characterization of the perception dynamics of real-world products.
TCATA data can be useful, for example, in early-stage development (to investigate how sensations evolve in different products within a product category), in factorial experiments investigating how ingredients/process changes affect sensory outcomes, in product matching (to ensure that sensations elicited by a prototype match the benchmark), and in product reformulation (to confirm that ingredient or process changes successfully differentiate the product). In this study, TCATA data are used to characterize the grain-based ready-to-eat cereals that are co-investigated by the presenters in this workshop.
Castura, J. C. (2016). Perception dynamics of grain-based ready-to-eat cereal products using TCATA. In Sensory Approaches and New Methods for Developing Grain-Based Products. In American Association of Cereal Chemists International Annual Meeting. 23-26 October. Savannah, Georgia, USA. (Invited Workshop Oral).