DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL, FOOD AND NUTRITIONAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA
AFNS 530
Principles of Sensory Evaluation of Food Fall 2020 Syllabus – Remote Delivery
Instructor: Dr. Wendy Wismer,
Associate Professor,
Sensory and Consumer Science, CFS E-mail: [email protected]
Instructor virtual office availability via Google Chat :
Monday 11:00 am - noon Tuesday 8:00 pm – 9 :00 pm
Please email any time if you have any questions or concerns, using NUFS430 in the subject line.
Marking and Instructional Assistance:
Dr. Ha Nguyen, Teaching Assistant; [email protected]
Dr. Nguyen can be contacted for assistance with Compusense and lab data analysis. 7 pm – 8 pm Thursdays via Google Chat
Class format:
Lectures
This course is offered remotely with synchronous opportunities, but can be completed asynchronously by viewing the recorded lectures using a link posted in eClass.
Participation in synchronous opportunities is not required. An ‘on screen’ presence is not required at any time. There are no discussions or forums linked to marks for participation.
Lectures will be presented in the regularly scheduled time of Tuesday and Thursday, 11:00 am to 12:20 pm, on-line via Zoom links in eClass. Each lecture will consist of three 20-minute segments. Powerpoint slides will be presented in a synchronous format; students will have an opportunity to ask questions by raising their ‘hand’ in the chat function. The session will be recorded, posted on-line and the link shared in eClass.
Labs
A detailed description of the lab format is provided below. In summary, a laboratory session to introduce the lab will take place on-line via Zoom (synchronous but recorded), followed by asynchronous completion of sensory and consumer science questionnaires, data analysis and submission of a lab report. Labs occur every second week.
Calendar Description: Principles and methods of analysis of the sensory properties of foods, appearance, texture, aroma and taste. Physiology of sensory receptors. Applications,
advantages, and limitations of sensory methods. Credits 3
Course Prerequisites: Introductory statistics (i.e.STAT 151) and NU FS 374.
Course format: Lectures cover both theoretical and applied information about the principles of the sensory evaluation of food products. Laboratory sessions allow students to practice
practical aspects of the discipline.
Course Objectives: Upon completion of this course, each participant will have a working knowledge of sensory and consumer science for the management and evaluation of sensory science-based food research conducted in industry, government or academia. Additionally, students will develop an understanding of the role of sensory assessment in the production, presentation and selection of foods.
Learning Outcomes:
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to…
1. summarize the importance of human sensory perception of food, including individual variations and limitations of perception.
2. select the appropriate sensory science test method to answer a sensory science research question.
3. apply appropriate statistical methods for common sensory science methods and interpret the results
4. construct tables and figures that clearly present experimental outputs from which readers may draw accurate interpretations and conclusions.
5. internalize sensory and consumer science research and communicate it in a variety of written and oral formats.
6. integrate the need for, and understand the process of, obtaining informed ethical consent for research with human subjects and develop a professional approach to working with human research participants.
7. integrate food science, nutrition, psychology, chemistry, biology and statistics in the discipline of sensory and consumer science.
8. perform standard clinical measures of gustation and olfaction.
9. plan a consumer sensory science panel.
Course Resources
eClass NUFS 430/ AFNS 530 site essential components:
• Course syllabus, rubrics for all assignments, project documents (instructions, templates).
• Lecture materials:
o PDFs of PowerPoint presentations of class lectures.
o Links to Zoom class lectures (synchronous lecture presentation).
o Links to posted recordings of class lectures (asynchronous lecture presentation).
• Lab materials:
o Pre-lab quizzes.
o Lab guidelines (instructions) with sensory questionnaires.
o Links to Zoom lab introduction sessions (synchronous presentation).
o Links to posted recordings of lab introduction sessions and data analysis & lab report write-up instructions (asynchronous presentation).
o Practice/ sample data for laboratory data analysis sessions.
• Submission portals for all assignments, including lab reports.
• On-line quizzes.
• Grade book of all grades generated in the course.
• Links to access library materials, including the course textbook, and on-line videos and websites.
• Course calendar. Due dates of assignments and quizzes.
Required readings to complement lecture and lab material:
• Meilgaard M, Civille GV, Carr BT. 2016. Sensory evaluation techniques. 5th ed. Boca Raton; CRC Press. 620p. A link to this eBook is located in eClass. Specific pages to read are identified in the last two pages of this syllabus.
Suggested additional resources (links posted in eClass in the ‘Resource’ section):
• Society of Sensory Professionals webpages of wiki lists of sensory terms and methods.
The list is available at: http://www.sensorysociety.org/knowledge/sspwiki/Pages/Title- List.aspx
• Poste LM, Mackie DA, Butler G and Larmond E. 1991. Laboratory methods for sensory analysis of food. Research Branch, Agriculture Canada Publication 1864/E. Canadian Communications Group Publishing Centre, Ottawa, ON K1A 0S9. This is an excellent sensory science handbook with examples of sensory questionnaires for common test methods with pictures of product presentations. The appendices include a table of random numbers and statistical probability tables.
Sensory science books available electronically through the University of Alberta on-line library system (links posted in eClass in the ‘Resource’ section):
• Lawless HT. 2013. Laboratory exercises for sensory evaluation. New York: Springer. 151 p.
• Kemp SE, Hollowood T, Hort J. 2009. Sensory evaluation: A practical handbook. Aimes:
Wiley-Blackwell. 208p.
• Lawless HT, Heymann H. 2010. Sensory evaluation of food: Principles and practices, 2nd ed. New York: Chapman & Hall. 596p.
• Meilgaard M, Civille GV, Carr BT. 2016. Sensory evaluation techniques. 5th ed. Boca Raton; CRC Press. 620p.
• O'Sullivan, MG. 2017. A handbook for sensory and consumer-driven new product development: innovative technologies for the food and beverage industry. Duxford:
Woodhead Publishing. 337 p.
• Stone H, Bleibaum R, Thomas HA. 2012. Sensory evaluation practices, 4th ed. London:
Academic Press. 438p.
Clinical sensory science books available through the University of Alberta on-line library system.
• DeVere R, Calvert M. 2011. Navigating smell and taste disorders. New York: Demos Health (Neurology Now Books). 180 p.
• Doty RL. 2015. Handbook of olfaction and gustation, 3rd ed. Hobroken: John Wiley and Sons. 1218p.
• Hawkes CH, Doty RL. 2018. Smell and taste disorders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 424 p.
• Welge-Lüssen A, Hummel T. 2014. Management of smell and taste disorders: A practical guide for clinicians.Stuttgart: Thieme. 240 p.
Recommended databases for Sensory and Consumer Science journal article searches.
Web of Science, FSTA, PubMed (for clinical sensory science testing and applications). Log in through the University of Alberta to obtain free access to journal articles.
Student resources required to complete the course remotely.
The University of Alberta’s expectations regarding computer technology and internet access for remote learning can be found here.
For NUFS 430/ AFNS 530 students will need MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint for assignment preparation. The Microsoft suite is free for U of A students from IST’s ‘On The Hub’.
Microphone capabilities will be required to prepare narrated PowerPoint presentations.
Laboratory Information
Lab objectives:
1. To become familiar with sensory evaluation techniques for a variety of foods and their sensory characteristics.
2. To become familiar with sensory panel organization, set up, and management.
3. To experience clinical measures of gustation and olfaction.
4. To gain experience in data analysis and the meaningful and valid interpretation of sensory results.
5. To develop skills for writing sensory research reports.
Lab format:
In remote delivery format, there are several steps to complete each lab. The six labs occur approximately every 2nd week of the semester.
Sunday 10 pm (Day 1)
The instructor will post lab guidelines for the week’s lab to eClass by Sunday evening at 10:00 pm and the pre-lab quiz in eClass will open.
Wednesday by 11:55 pm (Day 4)
Students complete the pre-lab quiz in eClass with a passing grade of 80%.
The quiz can be attempted as many times as needed to obtain 80%. If the pre-lab quiz is not successfully completed, a student cannot participate in the lab, and no mark will be received for the lab write-up.
Thursday 2:00 to 3:00 pm.
(Regularly scheduled lab session) (Day 5)
Lab introduction and methods. The teaching assistant will present
powerpoint slides on-line via Zoom in a synchronous session; students will have an opportunity to ask questions via the chat function. The session will be recorded, posted on-line and the link shared in eClass.
Thursday afternoon
The teaching assistant will describe methods for data analysis and data presentation in the lab report in a narrated powerpoint presentation (asynchronous) posted on-line and the link shared in eClass. Practice/
sample data will be posted to illustrate calculations.
by Friday at 3:00 pm.
(Day 6)
Students complete the lab activity independently on Compusense software.
Each student will receive a personalized link for their Compusense questionnaire.
A late penalty for the lab report will be applied to late submission of lab activity completion.
by 3:00 pm on Saturday (Day 7)
A class data set will be posted to eClass for analysis.
By 12:00 noon Thursday (Day 12)
Students submit their completed lab reports through eClass.
Graded labs with comments and feedback for future labs are posted when the grade is entered into eClass
Assignments and grading
All assignments in the course must be completed to pass the course. If you do not complete the labs or project you will receive a final course grade of incomplete. Pre-lab quizzes and assignments are completed individually; lab report write-ups can be completed individually or with a partner, the consumer study planning project will be completed with a partner. Students are responsible for content missed in lectures and labs.
Grading component Component weighting Contribution to final grade
Pre-lab quizzes 6 x 1% each = 6% 6%
Lab report write-ups
6 x 5% each = 30% 30%
Quizzes 2 x 3.5% each = 7% 7%
Assignments 6 x 7% each = 42% 42%
Short literature review paper
8 - 10 page review 15%
Pre-lab quizzes.
There will be 6 pre-lab quizzes, each worth 1.0%.
Lab report write-ups.
A general guide is provided for lab report content and specific instructions are provided with each lab. Labs can be written and submitted with a partner or completed individually.
Quizzes.
Quizzes will become available in eClass on the dates indicated below. Both lecture and lab contents will be covered in the open book quiz. Each quiz covers material presented since the previous quiz. Each quiz opens at 11:00 am; complete each quiz within 48 hr of its release.
Each quiz can be attempted as many times as needed to obtain the passing grade of 80%.
Each quiz consists of 25 questions in true or false, multiple choice or matching format.
Quiz 1. Thursday Oct 15.
Quiz 2. Thursday Dec 3.
Assignments
Six mini-assignments will be submitted. These are short assignments with a focus on task completion and description.
1) Narrated PowerPoint presentation; self-introduction and identification of items found in the home for food product sample presentation during the course. A PowerPoint template will be provided. Tuesday Sept 8.
2) Case study: selection of an appropriate consumer testing method. Tuesday Oct 6.
3) Snack product attribute characterization for descriptive analysis. Tuesday Oct 20.
4) Time intensity attribute evaluation of chewing gum on Compusense. Thursday Oct 29.
5) Case study: selection of an appropriate sensory and consumer testing method. Tuesday Nov 17.
6) Colour perception: Influence of food colour on emotion. Tuesday Dec 1.
Short literature review paper (for AFNS 530 student only)
A review of the literature (approximately 8 to 10 pages), plus references, on any aspect of the sensory and consumer science evaluation of a food product. The review must focus on the sensory and consumer science perspective of the selected topic. A rubric will be posted in eClass for the literature review as well as links to resources about building a literature review and the presentation of summaries of reviewed papers in extractions tables. Due Thursday Dec 3.
For all components of this course:
• Descriptions of sensory science methods will follow the guidelines of the Society of Sensory Professionals (SSP), which is recommended by the Journal of Food Science (link posted in eClass).
• The reference citation style is the CSE (Council of Science Editors) name-year reference format, 8th edition, used by many science journals including some food science and nutrition journals (e.g. International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition; Food Reviews
International). Examples of CSE reference formats are available on websites (e.g. Taylor and Francis publishers) and are summarized in guides prepared by several educational institutions, including the University of Alberta. Links to ‘Quick guides’ for CSE reference format have been posted in eClass.
Other Essential Course Details
Late Assignment Policy.
Lab write-ups, consumer study planning project assignments and assignments are due by noon (12:00 pm) unless otherwise stated. All late submissions will be reduced in value by 20% per day, beginning after the noon deadline.
Submit all assignments through eClass as Word documents (not as PDFs) un less an alternative format is requested.
Missed term work due to illness.
If you become ill and unable to complete term work please contact Dr. Wismer for an extension of due dates or reweighting of the grading component.
Request for re-assessment of graded components.
Graded course components will not be considered for re-assessment after two weeks have lapsed since their virtual return to the student. Any assignment submitted for re-assessment must be accompanied by a written description of the rationale for the re-assessment.
Access to past /representative evaluative course material.
A file is posted in the resources section of eClass that provides sample questions from past quizzes, midterms and final exams.
Use of the University of Alberta Grading System:
Final grades will be calculated using the method described in Assigning Grades in the University calendar, which states “Grades reflect judgments of student achievement made by instructors.
These judgments are based on a combination of absolute achievement and relative performance in a class.”
Academic Integrity
“The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behaviour (online at www.governance.ualberta. ca) and avoid any behaviour which could potentially result in
suspicions of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence.
Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.”
Copyright Statement
“All original course materials prepared by the instructor are considered to be the intellectual property of the instructor (unless otherwise noted), and are protected by law under Canada’s Copyright Act. “Course materials” include slides, presentations, handouts, lecture notes, recorded lectures, and any other materials distributed or made available to students by the course instructor. Permission is given for individual students to use these materials for their own study purposes in this course. Students must not publish, post on a public Internet site, sell, rent, or otherwise distribute any course materials without the instructor’s express permission.”
Audio and Video Recording
“Audio or video recording, digital or otherwise, of lectures, labs, seminars or any other teaching environment by students is allowed only with the prior written consent of the instructor or as a part of an approved accommodation plan. Student or instructor content, digital or otherwise, created and/or used within the context of the course is to be used solely for personal study, and is not to be used or distributed for any other purpose without prior written consent from the content author(s).”
Code of Student Behaviour
“All students at the University of Alberta are subject to the Code of Student Behaviour, as outlined at:
http://www.governance.ualberta.ca/en/CodesofConductandResidenceCommunityStandards/Co deofStudentBehaviour.aspx. Please familiarize yourself with it and ensure that you do not participate in any inappropriate behavior as defined by the Code. Key components of the code include the following statements.
30.3.2(1) No Student shall submit the words, ideas, images or data of another person as the Student’s own in any academic writing, essay, thesis, project, assignment, presentation or poster in a course or program of study.
30.3.2(2) c. No Student shall represent another’s substantial editorial or compositional assistance on an assignment as the Student’s own work.”
* Please speak with me if you have any questions or concerns about the Code,
particularly as it pertains to group assignments, internet research, using the same work as part of assignments in more than one course, lab work and the definition of plagiarism. Students are reminded that the university regulations on plagiarism and cheating will be strictly reinforced.
The most common situations in this course in which the Code of Student Behaviour is breached are:
1) Submission of identical or near identical text on lab reports or assignments by two or more students. Students are encouraged to communicate with other students in the class about data analysis, lab write-ups and assignments while avoiding submission of identical text between students, which is plagiarism.
2) Copy and paste of information found on-line. Students are expected to support scientific information with reference citations. Text that is identical to the original source (copy and paste), even when referenced, is considered to be plagiarized.
3) Figures, tables and images for which the student is not the author are presented without reference citations. Cite the source of all images to prevent plagiarism; use both in-text and reference list citations.
Policy about course outlines can be found in Section 23.4(2) of the University Calendar.
Lecture and Lab Timetable, NU FS 430/ AFNS 530, Fall 2020
Date Lecture Topic
Laboratory Topic (Thursday)
Due dates – lab reports and assignments
Sept 1/3 Topic 1. Course Introduction and overview
• Welcome; History and function of sensory and consumer science; overview of sensory testing items that can be used in the home. Complete Compusense evaluation form.
Topic 2. Consumer Sensory Testing
• Discrimination testing method; probability and p- values; Overview tray set up with sample cups, serviette and rinse water
No lab.
Sept 8/10 • Discrimination testing cont.
• Measurement and Scaling
Assignment #1 due Sept 8 Lab 1. Discrimination Testing.
Sept 15/17 • Attribute Intensity assessment; Product Profiling
• Preference and acceptance testing; Attribute diagnostics: Friedman’s test, t-test, ANOVA
No lab. Lab 1 due.
Sept 22/24 • Preference and acceptance testing cont.
• Consumer characterization: demographics and product use habits.
Lab 2. Attribute Intensity Assessments.
Sept 29/
Oct 1
• Overview of Practical applications of consumer test methods
Topic 3. Principles of Good Practice for Sensory Assessments
• Context effects & participant biases; Experimental designs; Use of human research subjects; Sample preparation & presentation; Sensory testing locations
No lab. Lab 2 due.
Oct 6/8 • Principles of good practice, continued Topic 4. Descriptive Analysis (trained panels)
• Texture profiles, generic descriptive analysis, QDA, Free Choice Profiling, recruiting and training panelists
Assignment #2 due Oct 6
Lab 3. Preference and Acceptance Testing.
Oct 13/15
• Descriptive Analysis, continued
• Quiz 1 – Thursday Oct 15
No lab. Lab 3 due.
Oct 20/22 Topic 5. Methods for Sensory Assessments Over Time
• Time intensity, Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS), temporal Check All That Apply (tCATA) Topic 6. Consumer Science
• Focus groups, standardized questionnaires (e.g.
neophobia scales), laddering, repertory grid method, conjoint analysis, free word association, emotion measurement
Assignment #3 due Oct 20
Lab 4. Attribute Diagnostics:
CATA product profiling
Oct 27/29 • Consumer science, continued
Topic 7. Food Industry Applications of Sensory and Consumer Science
No lab. Lab 4 due
Assignment #4 due Oct 29
Nov 3/5 • Applications of sensory science techniques in new food product development and quality assurance, continued.
• Overview of applications of sensory and consumer science methods
Lab 5. Consumer Science.
Nov 9-13 • No classes – Fall Reading Week No labs
Nov 17/19 Topic 8. Human Sensory Perception for Food Assessments
• Psychophysics: the measurement of stimuli
• Taint assessment in food products
• The chemical senses; Gustation
Assignment #5 due Nov 17
No lab. Lab 5 due.
Nov 24/26 • The chemical senses; Olfaction
• Other sensory modalities (vision, audition, texture, trigeminal)
Lab 6. Gustation and Olfaction.
Dec 1/3 • Other sensory modalities, cont
• Quiz 2 – Thursday Dec 3
Short literature review paper due (AFNS 530 only) Due Dec 3
No lab. Lab 6 due.
Assignment #6 due Dec 8
Required Reading, NU FS 430/ AFNS 530, Fall 2020
From: Meilgaard M, Civille GV, Carr BT. 2016. Sensory evaluation techniques. 5th ed. Boca Raton; CRC Press. 620p. A link to this eBook is located in eClass. A hard copy of this book is available in the Cameron Library.
Topic 1. Course Introduction and overview
• History and function of sensory and consumer science Chapter 1 – Introduction to Sensory Techniques
Chapter 2 – Sensory Attributes and the Way We perceive Them (pages 7-13)
Topic 2. Consumer Sensory Testing
• Discrimination testing method; probability and p-values
Chapter 7 – Overall Difference Tests (pages 79-96; 101-105; 108-117) Chapter 8 – Attribute Difference Tests (pages 123-127)
• Measurement and Scaling
Chapter 5 – Measuring Responses (pages 51-54; 59-67)
• Attribute intensity assessment; Product Profiling
• Preference and acceptance testing; Attribute diagnostics; Friedman’s test, t-test, ANOVA Chapter 13 – Affective Tests (pages 307-331;Appendix 13.3; Appendix 13.4)
Chapter 8 – Attribute Difference Tests (pages 139-142)
• Consumer characterization: demographics and product use habits
Topic 3. Principles of Good Practice for Sensory Assessments
• Context effects & participant biases; Experimental designs; Use of human research subjects;
Sample preparation & presentation; Sensory testing locations Chapter 3 – Controls for Test Room, Products, and Panel
Chapter 4 – Factors Influencing Sensory Verdicts
Topic 4. Descriptive Analysis (trained panels)
• Texture profiles, generic descriptive analysis, QDA, Free Choice Profiling, recruiting and training panelists
Chapter 11 – Descriptive Analysis Techniques (pages 201-210; 214; 215-218) Chapter 10 – Selection and Training of Panel Members (pages 173-199
Topic 5. Methods for Sensory Assessments Over Time
• Time intensity, Temporal Dominance of Sensation (TDS), temporal Check All That Apply (tCATA)
Chapter 11 – Descriptive Analysis Techniques (pages 211-214)
Topic 6. Consumer Science
• Focus groups, standardized questionnaires (e.g. neophobia scales), laddering, repertory grid method, conjoint analysis, free word association
• Context and emotion measurement in sensory science
Topic 7. Food Industry Applications of Sensory and Consumer Science
• The Use of Sensory and Consumer Science in Food Product Development; Guest lecture by Dr. Gaudette, Leduc Food Processing Centre, AAF
• Applications of sensory science techniques in new food product development and quality assurance.
Chapter 17 – Sensory Evaluation in Quality Control
Topic 8. Human Sensory Perception for Food Assessments
• Psychophysics: the measurement of stimuli
• Taint assessment in food products
• The chemical senses; Gustation, Olfaction
• Other sensory modalities (vision, audition, texture, trigeminal) Chapter 9 – Determining thresholds (153-156)
Chapter 2 – Sensory Attributes and the Way We perceive Them (pages 13-24)
Last class. Sensory and consumer science methods review and practice: Practical applications of sensory and consumer science techniques (activity)
Chapter 6 – Guidelines for Choice of Technique Chapter 20 – Practical Sensory Problems
