Linking Temporal Dominance of Sensations for Primary-Sensory and Multi-Sensory Attributes Using Canonical Correlation...

Sensory responses dynamically change while eating foods. Temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) methods record temporal evolution and have attracted attention in the last decade. ISO 13299 recommends that different levels of attributes are investigated in separate TDS trials. However, only a few studies have attempted to link the dynamics of two different levels of sensory attributes. We propose a method to link the concurrent values of dominance proportions for primary- and multi-sensory attributes using canonical correlation analysis. First, panels categorized several attributes into primary- and multi-sensory attributes. Primary-sensory attributes included sweet, sour, fruity, green, watery, juicy, aromatic, and light. Multi-sensory attributes included refreshing, fresh, pleasurable, rich/deep, ripe, and mild. We applied the TDS methods to strawberries using these two categories of attributes. The obtained canonical correlation model reasonably represented the relationship between the sensations in a reductive manner using five latent variables. The latent variables couple multiple primary- and multi-sensory responses that covary. Hence, the latent variables suggest key components to comprehend food intake experiences. We further compared the model based on the dominance proportions and the time-derivatives of the dominance proportions. We found that the former model was better in terms of the ease of interpreting the canonical variables and the degree to which the canonical variables explain the dominance proportions. Thus, these models help understand and leverage the sensory values of food products.