EVALUATION OF AN INTERNATIONAL RING TRIAL FOR SENSORY PROFILING OF HARD CHEESE

The results of the analysis of data from a ring trial, carried out by sensory laboratories in seven countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Ita ly, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) are reported. Samples of the same batches of twelve varieties of cheese were tested. The pro tocol for this ring trial was developed from that used in an earlier r ing trial in which each laboratory used its normal procedures for desc riptive profiling (Nielsen and Zannoni, 1998). The major element of th e revised methodology was the consensus vocabulary. All laboratories w ere able to differentiate between the cheese varieties using the new v ocabulary, hence showing a high degree of agreement between assessors within a laboratory. There was a very high degree of agreement between laboratories on the use of attributes for 'Texture', with a high degr ee of agreement for 'Aroma, Taste' and for 'Smell'. A Generalised Proc rustes Analysis (GPA) of the laboratory means showed that the samples lay in the same underlying sensory space and that the laboratories agr eed about the location of the samples in the space. There were some di fferences in the interpretation of the underlying sensory dimensions c onsistent with differences in the use of the attributes by the differe nt laboratories. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved