Sensory factors in
Satisfaction with foods
-Consumer’s perspective
Barbara Vad AndersenPhD. student
National Food Institute, DTU
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Background and Aim
•Satisfaction is believed to be an important factor contributing to
food choice.
•A method measuring sensory satisfaction
•Consumer’s satisfaction with the sensory factors of a product
•Show weather satisfaction is maintained though modulating
the product.
•The focus group interview as a pre-study for development of a
method to measure sensory satisfaction with food/meals.
Aim
•Examine consumer’s experiences with food satisfaction
•Examine which sensory factors consumer’s link to satisfaction.
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Recruitment and focus group procedure
• Two monitored focus groups were conducted April 24 and 26 2012, 90 minutes
• Target group: consumers
adults diff. in: age, sex, BMI, employment and interest in food
no people with special diets could participate
• Choose among eight different meals based on pictures
• Important topics during the interview:
Expectations and experiences,
Sensory reasons for selection and deselection
Sensory factors in the feeling of satisfaction
• Demographic data obtained through end-of-session questionnaire
• Analysis: interviews were thematic analyzed by to reviewers and constructed in
units with quotations to illustrate typical views
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Focus group procedure
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Results
Evaluation of satisfaction is a process starting before intake, ending after digestion
Before
intakeDuring
intake
After
intake
Expectations Taste
Texture
Complexity
Feelings of
fullness
Physiological
feelings
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ResultsFactors affecting satisfaction “before intake”
“..it was something I got in
an easy-made version
being a student.. We
heated a tin of skinned
tomatoes..”
Ass. to previous experience
Expectations
“Expectations means a lot as well as the context in which
you're eating. You don’t expect the same experience if you
are eating in nature, as if you're eating at a restaurant. In
nature a simple lunch with rue-bread can be very good
whereas you expect something more when you eat at a
restaurant.”
The context sets
the setting in
which you
evaluate the food
Comparison to
previous
experience and
general attitude
towards the
product
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“..if we think about Danish strawberries in July.. and
compare them to strawberries from southern Europe.
We expect the berries with an intense red color to
taste like the Danish –but they don’t … so you can
choose a product based on expectations and desires
but the taste make it fail! ”
Confirmation or disconfirmation of
expectations for the taste
Texture
“..It has a bad texture.
Caramelized onions are
too soft and at the same
time crispy, its confusing
and I don’t like it..”
Satisfaction
depends on
whether or not
expectations are
fulfilled
Mismatch between
different textures
ResultsFactors affecting satisfaction “during intake”
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ResultsFactors affecting satisfaction “after intake”
Fulfillment of sensory needs
Satiety
“..there is no doubt in my
mind; my opinion of a
meal is that you must feel
satiated when you finish.
If I leave the table hungry
I would be disappointed.”
“..I would never eat the
onions, because it causes
hell to brake loose in my
food pipe.”
Physiological feeling
“..to me it means
something to experience
different tastes and
textures. You don’t
necessarily get satiated,
but you are satisfied in
another way.”
Satisfaction is not
necessarily linked to
satiation but can
also be linked to
complexity in taste
and texture
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Conclusion
Developing a method for measuring food satisfaction must include
measurements:
before-
during-
and after intake
Feeling satisfaction is not only linked to perception of the sensory
properties but indeed also to confirmation/disconfirmation of
expectations