Q. Illustrate the descriptive analysis of Sensory method?
Sensory methods may be used to quantify the perceived intensities of the sensory attributes of a product. The quantification can be in terms of scaling of a product for different perceived sensations. This procedure of quantification is known as descriptive analysis.
Descriptive analysis is generally used in situations where a detailed specification of the sensory attribute of a single product is required. These are frequently used in product development to measure how close a new variation is to the desired product. However, such testing requires trained panelist so that the results are consistent and reproducible.
As descriptive analysis is very helpful in defining the quality attributes of a product and is required in the evaluation of variations during product development, thus, for your understanding we will conduct one activity to assess the sensory attribute of a product.
Before we go into the details of product evaluation through descriptive analysis, we must be familiar with various descriptors or selecting terms used to describe the sensory attributes of the products. Let us get to know them.