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DIN Standards Committee Food and Agricultural Products

Overview

This document contains comprehensive guidance on the investigation of profiles. Sensory profiling is based on the concept that the sensory impression made by the sample consists of a number of identifiable sensory attributes (descriptors), each of which is present to a larger or smaller degree. The list of all relevant sensory descriptors, each with its intensity value, is the sensory profile. This sensory profile is a descriptive analysis of a sample by a panel. The sample may be a product (for instance a food, beverage, tobacco product, cosmetic, textile or paper). It could also be a sample of air or water being tested for pollutants. Profiling can be carried out on a number of ways. Over the years, a few of these have been formalized and codified as descriptive procedures by professional societies or by groups of producers and users for the purpose of improving communication between themselves. The purpose of this standard is to provide agreed guidelines for such descriptive methods. The document describes the overall process for developing a sensory profile. In addition to special definitions of terms and principles of the investigation of profiles, the general test conditions (for instance, test room, apparatus, sampling), the selection, the training and monitoring of assessors, the individual steps of the procedure and the evaluation of results are indicated, using appropriate statistical methods. Informative Annex A contains statistical analysis taking the comparison of eight model systems as an example. Informative Annex B gives recommended graphical and diagrammatic methods of representing sensory profiles. In addition to the special terms and definitions a reference is made to the terminology standard in the field of sensory analysis, ISO 5492. This International Standard (also available as multilingual version EN ISO 5492:2009) contains a wide selection of terms and definitions in English, French, Russian, Spanish and German. This document incorporates without any alterations the International Standard 13299:2003, which has been prepared by ISO/TC 34 "Food products" (secretariat: AFNOR (France)), Subcommittee SC 12 "Sensory analysis" (secretariat: IRAM (Argentina)). On the basis of a resolution by CEN/SS C01 "Food products", ISO 13299:2003 has been adopted, without any modifications, as a European Standard under the Unique Acceptance Procedure (UAP). The collaboration of DIN at CEN for the field of responsibility of CEN/SS C01 "Food products" (secretariat: CEN Management Centre (CMC)) is performed through Working Committee NA 057-01-01 AA "Sensorik" ("Sensory analysis") of NAL.

Document: references other documents

Document: referenced in other documents

Responsible national committee

NA 057-08-01 AA - Sensory analysis  

Responsible european committee

CEN/BT - BT Technical Board  

Responsible international committee

ISO/TC 34/SC 12 - Sensory analysis