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4. Sensory metrology tasks
They are diverse. Many involve an explicit comparison between two signals; indeed, Man is essentially a comparator.
4.1 Locating a signal in background noise
Man's sensory system is continually flooded with information from both the external world and his own body. This information creates background noise. The first question to ask, therefore, is what is the smallest amount of stimulus a subject needs to be given in order for a sensory signal to emerge from the background noise.
This quantity is called the differentiation threshold, or perception threshold.
The signal is then declared to be explored at the liminal level. The adjective "liminal" refers to the Latin limen and to the concept of a threshold value...
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Sensory metrology tasks
The tests
Bibliography
References
Standardization. Accreditation
Association Française de Normalisation AFNOR
The latest edition of all existing standards for the sensory evaluation of food products:
Sensory Analysis (651 p.) dates from January 2002.
The most important documents include :
- Analyse sensorielle. Méthodologie. Directives générales pour la réalisation d'épreuves hédoniques en laboratoire...
Organizations
Research organizations
In addition to the ACTIA centers, which develop applied research activities in the field of sensory metrology alongside their activities as service providers, most agri-food schools, notably Enitia (Nantes), Ensbana (Dijon) and Ensia (Massy), have a sensory evaluation research group.
At INRA, the most active laboratories in the sensory field are certainly those at...
Software
Leading sensory data capture software includes :
Compusense Inc. (Canada) http://www.compusense.com
Fizz (Biosystèmes) (France) http://www.biosystemes.com
Tastel, ABT Informatique (France) http://www.abt-sensory-analysis.com
Manufacturers
Grosseron sensory evaluation booths (Nantes).
Sentosphère (Paris) scent boxes.
Éditions Jean Lenoir (Carnoux-en-Provence)
Les Maisons du goût, Pôle Alimentec (Bourg-en-Bresse)
Burghart (Germany) http://www.bughart.net
This company offers a set of "Sniffin'sticks" to identify anosmics and hyposmics...
Service providers
Numerous organizations offer custom assessments in the discriminative, descriptive and hedonic fields.
A number of these centers, which come under the auspices of technical centers or CRITTs, are members of ACTIA (Paris). ACTIA has drawn up a Guide to Good Practice (see above) for clients of ACTIA centers who "sell" sensory evaluation and who undertake to comply...
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