A NEW APPROACH FOR THE FORMULATION OF BEVERAGES .1. SENSORY EXPLORATION OF A COMPOSITION SPACE BY TRAINED AND CONSUMER PANELISTS

The aim of the paper is to present the methodology and the results of a sensory study for the formulation of new beverages. The method consi sts of several steps. A composition space is first defined by choosing the nature and concentration range of seven ingredients. Eighty-one m ixtures, differing in the concentration of four ingredients which vary at three concentration levels, are formulated and examined from a sen sory point of view. A sensory profile is performed by a panel of train ed judges. Five sensory attributes chosen for their high discriminatio n capacity and their significant action in predicting ingredient varia tions are selected. Six products differing in their sensory properties are selected in the sensory space and tasted by 111 consumers. The pa nellists are clustered into three groups of homogeneous preference. Th irty consumers showing a preference for the same product as well as th e five descriptors are used as inputs for the interactive optimization of the product formulation which is described in part II of this arti cle.