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Investigation of Sensory Research of Taste, Sight, Hearing, Smell, and Touch

Decent Essays

To investigate the current trends in the sensory industry, the history of sensory research must first be reviewed. Sensory research began with the five basic senses; smell, sight, hearing, taste and touch. Chemical senses have been defined as taste and smell whereas non chemical senses include sight, hearing and touch (Lundström et al. 2012).
Sensory science is an area that has greatly developed its spectrum of research in the last sixty years or so. The area of sensory science has greatly enhanced its spectrum of research in the last sixty years. This is primarily due to the acceleration of research and technology developments. In the 1950’s and 1960’s, there were significant changes in the sensory world that propelled it into what …show more content…

This is evident by the research carried out in the 1970’s which focused primarily on initial tasting and responses to the food (Martens, 1999). The research continued to evolve and the 1990’s saw a greater prominence placed on cognitive and behavioural studies (Martens, 1999).
Sensory science and consumer research can be said to be closely correlated as consumer response recognised as one of the main priorities for food companies when developing their products. Thorough sensory evaluation tests using trained panels are a commonly used and often a mandatory step in new product development by many of the major food companies. When trained panels are used, it provides the researchers with the ability to interpret the consumer’s needs based on the results from the sensory properties (Bech et al. 1997). Comprehensive research can be conducted on just one product with the use of trained panels. The colour, size, taste, texture, smell and appearance can all be measured. Panellists can however, give varying results as particular smells, flavours and colours may be off – putting to one person but liked by another. The key for consumer research in new product development is to apply the best sensory attributes that appeal to the majority of consumers.
The development of sensory science has also led to wider research into non sensory factors that affect consumer choice. These factors are regularly taken

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