Alejandra Picallo

Comparison of TCATA and TDS for dynamic sensory characterization of food products

Temporal Check-All-That-Apply (TCATA) has been recently introduced as a method for temporal sensory product characterization. Building on the standard Check-All-That-Apply (CATA) question format, assessors select all the terms they consider applicable for describing the sensations they perceive, and they do so at each moment of the evaluation process. This research further investigates the TCATA method, through its application to products of varying complexity (yogurt, salami, cheese, orange juice, French bread, and marinated mussels) using consumers and trained panellists as assessors. More importantly, to deliver new methodological insights we compare TCATA to Temporal Dominance of Sensations (TDS). This comparison will aid researchers to select the temporal method best suited to their needs. Across three countries, six studies were conducted. Within-subjects experimental designs were used in Studies 1-3 and involved trained panellists using both TCATA and TDS on the same set of products. In Studies 4-6, between-subjects experimental designs were used, and the assessors, who were consumers, evaluated samples using either TCATA or TDS. The results confirmed that TCATA is suitable for measuring the temporal sensory characteristics of products. By enabling identification of several sensory characteristics that are concurrently perceived in products, the results from this research also suggest that TCATA may provide a more detailed description of the dynamics of the sensory characteristics of products. The TDS concept of dominance appears to decrease detailed description and discrimination of attributes that are simultaneously perceived, particularly when dealing with multiple sensory modalities. The practical implications of these differences are discussed.

Nutritional and eating quality of Argentinean beef : A review

This review deals with distinctive aspects of quality of Argentinean beef in terms of tenderness, flavour, colour, juiciness, taste, acceptability, lipid content and composition and its resultant nutraceutical characteristics. Differences are due to beef production systems based on temperate or tropical grasslands aimed at shortening the fattening phase as far as possible, with limited or null use of concentrates. However, the effect of limited supplemental feeding is also discussed as well as the responses arising from the use of beef cattle genotypes, including British, Continental, Dairy, Zebu breeds and their crosses, adapted to the various environments and systems found in the country.

Influencia del área productiva de la región pampeana y del tiempo de maduración sobre la calidad sensorial de carne de novillos

The quality of steer meat of different regions of Argentina has been partially characterized. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the influence of the production area of the Pampeana Region, and the ageing time (4 and 7 days) on sensory steer’s meat quality. Ninety steers were sampled from different areas of the “Pampeana” region, slaughtered in two slaughter plants belonging to the same company, located in the provinces of Santa Fe (called Plant S) and Entre Rios (called Plant E). After 72 h post-slaughters, samples of the Longissimus dorsi muscle (9°-13° rib) were taken. A sensory panel of eight trained assessors performed a quantitative descriptive analysis using a not structured 10 cm linear scale. 16 descriptors were considered: appearance (2), flavor (9) and texture (5). Data were analyzed statistically using the procGLM and Tukey’s test (p < 0.05). Results showed influence of the slaughter plants on the sensory quality, and significant differences were observed (p < 0.01) for the following attributes: global color, intensity of odour, hardness, chews and whereas the descriptors: intensity and typical odor, tastes acid, salty and metallic, hardness, chewiness, number of chews and juiciness. When analyzing the ageing time influence, it could be observed that the attributes related to the smell (intensity and typical odor), taste (sweet, salty and metallic flavor), texture (chewiness number of chews, and fibrousness) were significantly affected in each slaughter plant. In conclusion, the area of origin of the meat of the Pampeana region, influenced the meat tenderness and chewiness, being “more tender” the meat from the plant located in Santa Fe.