Comparison of Two Methodologies for Estimating Equivalent Sweet Concentration of High‐Intensity Sweeteners with Untrained Assessors: Case Study with Orange/Pomegranate Juice

Abstract

AbstractThe estimation of equivalent sweet concentrations of high‐intensity sweeteners is one of the first steps for the substitution of sucrose during the development of low‐calorie products. The aim of this work was to compare two sensory methodologies (paired comparison and magnitude estimation) and two data analysis approaches (logistic regression and survival analysis) to estimate equivalent sweet concentration of high‐intensity sweeteners, using orange/pomegranate juice as case study. Three low‐calorie sweeteners were considered: sucralose, stevia and monk fruit extract. For each sweetener, a series of six orange/pomegranate juice samples with different sweetener concentration were prepared. Three groups of 100 consumers participated in the study. Each group was randomly divided into two groups of 50, each of which evaluated samples using one of the two methodologies (paired comparison and magnitude estimation). Paired comparison and magnitude estimation provided similar estimations for the three high‐intensity sweeteners which were in agreement with published data, regardless of the statistical approach used for data analysis. However, logistic regression and survival analysis differed in the accuracy of the estimations.Practical ApplicationsPaired‐comparison and magnitude estimation provided similar estimations. However, due to its simplicity and perceived ease participants, paired comparison seems to be the recommended approach for the estimation of equivalent sweet concentrations of high‐intensity sweeteners with consumers. Data analysis should be performed using survival analysis to obtain more accurate estimations.