Individual sensitivity to critical oral sensations and effect on dynamic sensory perception: a case study on extra virgin olive oil

The extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is highly appreciated for its unique flavour. The interplays between the phenolic fraction, responsible for the chemosensory profile, and the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), responsible of a wide range of aromas, make the EVOO perception a complex and dynamic sensory experience. Dynamic sensory methodologies (e.g. Temporal Check-All-That-Apply - TCATA) allow to temporally investigating the evolution of perceptions and the interaction among sensations during food tasting. Individual variability in sensitivity to oral sensations (e.g. Bitterness) has already demonstrated to influence food perception, suggesting an effect on the dynamic perception and on the interactions among sensations. In this context, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of individual sensitivity toward critical chemosensory sensations (bitterness, astringency and pungency) on the dynamic sensory perception of EVOOs. Six Italian EVOOs (different phenolic and VOCs profile) and two tasting conditions (pure oil and oil in combination with bread) were tested. After training on sensory descriptors, a panel of 20 assessors (50% females) evaluated the samples in triplicate trough TCATA methodology. Individual sensitivity toward bitterness, astringency and pungency was assessed trough intensity evaluation of five water solutions with increasing concentration. Physiological curves allowed obtaining clusters with different sensitivity toward bitterness, astringency and pungency. Preliminary data elaborations indicate that variability in sensitivity toward the tested oral sensations seems to affect the dynamic perception of EVOOs, suggesting a different sensory experience during their consumption depending on the person. Next step is to couple dynamic sensory profiles with Nose Space analysis of VOCs through a Proton Transfer Reaction-Mass Spectrometry, to study the relationship between VOCs release and dynamic sensory perception. The optimized combined methods will be applied to discriminate EVOOs within the project “VIOLIN” (Project AGER2-Rif.2016-0169 funded by Cariplo Foundation), aimed to valorise and promote the PDO Italian EVOO.