Hedonic threshold methodology varying three stimuli using a central composite rotatable design: Application to NaCl
Matheus Ribeiro Boechat Gualande1, Marcelly Miranda Rodrigues1, Cynthia Maria Oliveira da Silva1
1Departamento de Engenharia de Alimentos, Centro de Ciências Agrárias e Engenharias, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Alto Universitário, s/n, P.O.Box 16, Zip Code 29500-000, Alegre, ES, Brazil.
Abstract:
The hedonic threshold methodology varying three stimuli (HTM3s) has several applications in the food industry. It allows the change of three quantitative variables without affecting product acceptance (CAT-compromised acceptance threshold) and without causing hedonic rejection (HRT-hedonic rejection threshold). The objective was to investigate using the central composite rotatable design (CCRD) in the HTM3s to allow the determination of hedonic thresholds (CAT and HRT) varying three stimuli. The methodology was applied to reduce NaCl and add KCl and MgCl2 to sliced bread. Using the CCRD, 15 combinations of salt concentrations (treatments) were determined for sliced bread, which 112 consumers sensorially analyzed. When adding 0.809 % of KCl and 0.770 % of MgCl2 (m/m baker's percentage), the sensorial acceptance of the sliced bread is compromised only when there is a reduction of 38.59 % (relative to 1.7 % NaCl in the control sample) of NaCl (CAT). Furthermore, when adding 0.686 % KCl and 0.550 % MgCl2, hedonic rejection begins to occur only when there is a 97.47 % reduction in NaCl (HRT). The CAT and HRT proved to be accurate. Until then, only the mixture design had been used to determine hedonic thresholds varying three stimuli. For the first time, CCRD was used for this purpose, presenting the advantage of allowing the investigation of more stimulus combinations, which do not necessarily need to be part of a mixture. Therefore, the use of CCRD in HTM opens up possibilities for new applications of hedonic thresholds in science and the food industry.
