Training of A Sensory Panel and its Correlation with Instrumental Methods: Texture of a Pseudo Plastic

Sensory analysis is a scientific discipline with specific purposes, which measures and explores the stimuli perceived by the senses against different variants and whose results can be validated through instrumental methods. In the present study, the target was established utilizing convocation, selection, and training of a group of semi-trained judges to serve as a basis for the correlation of sensory analysis with instrumental analysis at the Agrarian University, Ecuador. The study was carried out in 2023 at the Agrarian University of Ecuador. A general call was made, where finalists were trained twice a week for one month as sensory judges in terms of hedonic scale and texture (adhesiveness, homogeneity, and viscosity) to determine different texture parameters, using as a preliminary test of capabilities, the evaluation of 3 different formulations of a dressing based on passion fruit juice and babaco. Once the treatment with the highest sensory acceptability was determined, an instrumental, microbiological, and physical-chemical analysis was conducted. The results were tabulated through an analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the Tukey 5% method with the RStudio statically data program. The research results from the call, 150 participants entered, of which 30 final panelists were determined who, through training, fulled the established requirements and, in turn, chose the second formulation of the dressing as the best treatment, which employs back extrusion test as an instrumental validation parameter, provided an overview of the relationship between sensory and instrumental analysis and its correlation. The correlation of the analyses to the texture profile evidenced the variability presented by the different treatments. Based on this, the present study emphasizes the importance of developing a comparison between sensory training with semi-trained judges and instrumental analyses, presenting a significant impact on the evaluation within the product development process. Assessing the strategic correlation of both approaches can provide a more comprehensive and balanced assessment of sensory quality, leveraging the strength of human subjectivity and the precision of instrumental measurements.