ASTM E1871-97(2004)
(Practice)Standard Practice for Serving Protocol for Sensory Evaluation of Foods and Beverages
Standard Practice for Serving Protocol for Sensory Evaluation of Foods and Beverages
SCOPE
1.1 This practice describes suggested procedures for presenting samples to sensory assessors. The purpose of this practice is to provide general guidelines for conducting sensory evaluation on a variety of foods and beverages, excluding beverage alcohol.
1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.
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NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
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Designation:E1871–97(Reapproved 2004)
Standard Practice for
Serving Protocol for Sensory Evaluation of Foods and
Beverages
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E1871; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.Anumber in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.A
superscript epsilon (e) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 5. Procedure
1.1 This practice describes suggested procedures for pre- 5.1 General Guidelines:
senting samples to sensory assessors. The purpose of this 5.1.1 Pretest—A practice session may be conducted with a
practiceistoprovidegeneralguidelinesforconductingsensory few staff members or assessors to determine if the selected
evaluation on a variety of foods and beverages, excluding procedures are appropriate for a specific test. Serving sizes,
beverage alcohol. number of samples, number of questions, palate cleansers,
1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the sample temperature, lighting, etc., should be determined by
safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the pretesting and appropriately modified for the actual test.
responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appro- 5.1.2 Product Variability—Variability exists in all products.
priate safety and health practices and determine the applica- Howproductvariabilityishandleddependsontheobjectiveof
bility of regulatory limitations prior to use. the test, the size of the effect one is attempting to detect, and
the risks associated with decision making. Unless the test is
2. Referenced Documents
designed to understand the extent of product variability, it
2.1 ASTM Standards: should be minimized.
E1627 Practice for Sensory Evaluation of Edible Oils and
5.1.2.1 Samples must be consistent and uniform regarding
Fats production lot, age, package size, etc. All test conditions and
E1810 Practice for Evaluating the Effects of Contaminants
serving procedures are determined by the test objective, test
on the Odor and Waste of Exposed Fish method,andtestdesign.Adescriptivetestmighthavedifferent
2.2 IEC Standard:
requirements than an acceptance or preference test. It is
IEC 705 Guideline for Power Output Measurement of
important that all sample preparation and serving procedures
Consumer Microwave Ovens be pretested.
5.1.2.2 Consider product variability when preparing
3. Summary of Practice
samples for a test. Based on the objective of the test, contents
3.1 Consistency must be maintained in all aspects of prepa-
of all containers may be blended for a given product prior to
ration and serving of samples to ensure reproducible data.
portioning individual samples or samples may be portioned
Guidelines for consistency may change with the test objective.
from individual containers. For example, if six bottles of a
given brand of salad dressing are required for a test, it may be
4. Significance and Use
decided to blend the contents of the six bottles. While this
4.1 This practice provides general guidelines and recom-
option appears to provide the most uniform sampling, it masks
mendations for presenting samples to assessors for sensory
anyvariationamongthesixbottles.Thiscanimpacttheresults
evaluation. Specific situations may require variations to these
if a positive or negative effect goes undetected.
guidelines.
5.1.2.3 Another consideration is the pouring sequence for
products that layer, for example, blended beverages and salad
dressings.Eachsampleshouldbetakenfromthesamelocation
This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E18 on Sensory
within the container for all variables for a single assessor.
Evaluation of Materials and Products and is the direct responsibility of Subcom-
Another consideration of product variability is the difference
mittee E18.06 on Food and Beverage Evaluation.
Current edition approved Nov. 1, 2004. Published November 2004. Originally
between exposed surfaces and interior surfaces. Some prod-
approved in 1997. Last previous edition approved in 1997 as E1871–97.
ucts, for example, peanut butter, mayonnaise, butter, jam, and
For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, or
frozendesserts,mayrequireremovalofexposedsurfacesprior
contact ASTM Customer Service at service@astm.org. For Annual Book of ASTM
to evaluation. It may be important, however, to evaluate both
Standards volume information, refer to the standard’s Document Summary page on
the ASTM website.
exposed and interior surfaces.
Available from International Microwave Power Institute, 13542 Union Village
Circle, Clifton, VA 22024. Phone: (703) 830-5588.
Copyright © ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.
E1871–97 (2004)
5.1.3 Serving Containers/Utensils—The same type of con- than those recommended may result in differences due to
tainers and utensils should be used throughout the test. Con- temperature rather than the test variables. The sample’s tem-
sider the following when choosing the container/utensil: perature should not be so hot that the assessor cannot comfort-
ably hold it in one’s mouth. The temperature, however, should
(1)Thetestobjective,forexample,alidmaybeneededfor
be selected to ensure the sample is microbiologically safe. It is
aroma evaluation,
important to monitor the temperature of the samples through-
(2) Maintaining sample characteristics, for example, size,
out serving and evaluation. Preheating serving containers will
shape, serving temperature, moisture, etc.,
minimize heat loss. A new sample may need to be provided
(3) Product/container interaction,
during a test period to maintain a consistent temperature.Also,
(4) The amount of sample required to complete the
consider the effect of temperature loss or gain on a product’s
evaluation,
moisture content, viscosity, and other characteristics.
(5) The amount of effort required by assessors to remove
5.1.6 Palate Cleansers—Palate cleansers should be used
the product from the container for evaluation, and
before evaluation and between samples. Different types of
(6) The containers/utensils should be neutral in color
products require different palate cleansers. A palate cleanser
(unless tint is needed to mask color differences) and made of
needs to be as bland as possible and easily cleared from the
materials that are inert, nonreactive, and odor-free.
mouth. Room temperature water, bottled, filtered, distilled,
5.1.3.1 Some plastic materials are less inert, more suscep-
etc., is a commonly used cleanser. Saltine or oyster crackers,
tible to temperature changes, and less odor-free than others so
unsaltedtops,areeffectiveformanyproducts.Othercleansers,
they should be pretested prior to their use. Consider washing
such as warm water, a 50/50 blend of warm water and
glassware with an unscented detergent, followed by baking at
sodium-free carbonated water, or extended rest periods be-
93°C (200°F) for several hours, to eliminate any dusty smell.
tween samples also may be effective. Determine which
Assessors should not be able to draw conclusions about the
cleanser or combination of cleansers is best for a product
identity of the samples due to extraneous variables not related
during pretesting.
to the test objective. It may be possible to mask color
5.1.7 Carriers—Consider the test objective and nature of
differences with light filters, subdued lighting, or tinted glass-
the product when determining if a carrier is needed. Carriers
ware, or combination thereof.
most often are used to present products in a form that is more
5.1.4 Serving Size—Consider the test objective when deter-
typical of how the product is used or consumed by consumers.
mining serving size. Provide enough of the sample to ensure
In addition, some products may require being evaluated with a
the assessor evaluates the overall product, not just one or two
carrier, for example, fruit flavors may need to be evaluated in
components. The amount and size of the sample must be
a sucrose/citric acid solution or a soy sauce may need to be
consistent for each assessor. Scoops, measuring cups, and top
evaluated on rice because of its high flavor intensity when
loading balances are effective for maintaining consistency.
evaluated plain. Product and carrier can be combined prior to
5.1.4.1 Consider all of the test variables and product char-
serving or served separately for the assessor to combine.
acteristics when determining sample preparation and serving
5.1.7.1 Several things need to be considered when selecting
protocol, for example, the top crust of bread is different from
a carrier. The carrier should be appropriate for the product
the bottom crust. Pretesting is helpful to accurately determine
being tested. This often includes selecting a carrier that
the amount needed, for example, the perceived spice level of a
represents one of the more common usages of the product, for
barbecue sauce may be markedly higher on the third or fourth
example, chicken for a BBQ sauce or turkey sandwich for
bite than the first, so consider providing enough sauce for
mayonnaise.The carrier should have a neutral influence on the
evaluation of both the first and third bites. It may be necessary
evaluation of the product.The carrier should not mask product
toprovideinstructionstoensurethatthesamplesareevaluated
attributes critical to the evaluation, distract attention from the
correctly, for example, “place entire sample in mouth,” “be
product, or exceed/fall short of common consumer expecta-
sure your bite includes the crust,” etc.
tionsforthecarrier.Forexample,iceberglettuceforapourable
5.1.4.2 It may be necessary for the assessors to eat an entire
salad dressing evaluation or saltine crackers for a margarine
servingportionbasedonthetestobjective.Assessorsshouldbe
evaluation are neutral, yet similar to common usage, and
informedofthequantitytheywillberequiredtoconsumeprior
enable an assessor to focus on evaluating the product sample
tobeginningthetest.Toensureassessorscomply,requirethem
rather than the carrier. The carrier should be consistent in
to finish the portion before completing the evaluation.
aroma, flavor, texture, and appearance across all presentations
5.1.5 Serving Temperature—Consider the test objective in
of the samples; any inconsistencies can bias responses to the
determining the sample serving temperature. The serving
products themselves. In addition, the same amount of carrier
temperature of all samples must be consistent and within a
should be used for each sample.
predetermined range. The serving temperature, however, may
5.1.7.2 It may be difficult to determine whether a carrier is
bedifferentthantheevaluationtemperatureduetoheatgainor
the proper choice for the product evaluation.Testing both with
loss.Forexample,asamplethatistobeevaluatedat70°Cmay
and without the carrier can be used to determine the impact on
need to be served at 85°C. Since serving temperatures vary
the differentiation of samples.
with product type, recommended ranges are provided in 5.4.If
no range is provided, ambient temperature is recommended. 5.1.7.3 Anotherapplicationofcarrierstobeconsideredisas
Maintain the selected temperature range using hot trays, water an end-use. For example, it may be appropriate to test cereal
baths, steam tables, crushed ice, or ice water. Ranges larger with milk added or pancakes with syrup added. Consumer
E1871–97 (2004)
research about how the product is used may help determine if (140°F) for microbiological safety. Determine the effect of
a carrier is appropriate. holding,ortempering,samples.Thiseffectincludeschangesin
5.1.8 Time Intervals—Pretesting will determine how much
the initial internal temperature, as well as other physical
timeisneededtoallowanassessor’ssensestorecoverbetween changes. Reheating is not recommended.
samples.Ifspecifictimeintervalsarerequired,stepsneedtobe
5.2.1.1 Many products do not cook uniformly, for example,
takentoensurethatallassessorsmaintaintheintervals.Timers,
acrustmayformonthetopandsidesurfaces,theoutsideedges
stopwatches, and time-delayed computer screens may be help-
may cook to a higher temperature or become browner than the
ful.
interior, etc. Prior to the test, determine if only the interior
5.1.9 Expectoration—Consider the test objective in deter-
portionswillbeusedoriftheentireproductwillbeused.Ifthe
mining if assessors need to expectorate. Differences in expec-
entire product is served, care must be taken to ensure that each
toration techniques may affect assessor results. It may be
assessor evaluates similar portions.
desirable to standardize the technique. Minimally, individual
5.2.1.2 Several items can be used to maintain the recom-
assessors should treat all samples consistently. Provide asses-
mended temperature of samples prior to serving and during
sors with an appropriate and sanitary means of expectoration.
testing, for example, heated sand, electrical pads/plates, heat
Sixteen-ounceopaquecupswithlidsworkwell,sinceassessors
lamps, water baths, preheated glass/borosilicate serving con-
can place their mouths completely and discretely in the cup
tainers with lids, steam tables, etc. Equipment should be
opening. Assessors should be responsible for discarding their
similar in terms of wattage, energy source, shelf height, etc.
own containers.
5.2.2 Microwaved—Itisrecommendedthatthesamebrand,
5.1.10 Product Holding Time—Some products may change
model, and wattage ovens be used for product preparation (see
following preparation or when exposed to the environment so
IEC705).Sinceovensvaryintheiroutput,eventhosewiththe
it may be important to control the time between sample
same brand and model, it is recommended that samples be
preparationandserving.Forexample,breadandmeatmaydry
balanced by ovens. All ovens should be clean before each
out, candy may get tacky, soups and sauces may thicken, ice
sample is placed in them. Be consistent placing products in
cream may melt, French fries may get soft/limp, etc. Pretest to
cold or preheated ovens. Ice bags or cold towels may be
determine the appropriate holding time.
appropriate for cooling ovens.
5.1.11 Test Environment—The testing environment should
bequietandodor-free.Assessorsandthoseservingthesamples
5.2.2.1 If several microwave ovens will be operating at
should keep conversation to a minimum and speak quietly
once, they must be tested/calibrated while all are operating at
when necessary. Cologne, perfume, aftershave, etc., that may
the same time to be sure they are heating products similarly.
interfere with the evaluation of products, should not be worn
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