Preferred Attribute Elicitation (PAE) method compared to descriptive analysis: a study using probiotic yogurt sweetened with xylitol and/or prebiotic components

Classical descriptive analyses are commonly used to perfom a complete description of food products. Preferred Attribute Elicitation (PAE) is a rapid sensory technique and has been experiencing limited use in food industry. This study aimed to evaluate the PAE method (20 consumers, aged 17-28) and compare it with conventional descriptive analysis - DA (15 trained assessor, aged 18-25) to determine the sensory profile of probiotic yogurts sweetened with xylitol and/or prebiotic components. Five probiotic yogurts (108 cfu/mL, L. casei) were evaluated: SUC (sucrose, 120 g/L), SUCR (sucralose, 0.02 g/L), XYL (xylitol, 120g/L), XYL-O (xylitol, 120 g/L + oligofructose, 60 g/L) and XYL-P (xylitol, 120 g/L + polydextrose, 60 g/L). DA data were submitted to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) while PAE were submitted to Generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA). To evaluate the concordance of both methodologies, Multiple Factor Analysis (MFA) was applied. DA elicitated the following atributtes: white color, brightness, sweet and acid aroma, sweet and acid taste, bitter aftertaste, consistency, creaminess and firmness; in PAE method, the sensory vocalulary described was: white color, brightness, typical yogurt aroma, acid taste, mild flavor, bitter aftertaste, consistency, watery texture and creaminess which reveals increased concordance level. PCA bidimensional map and GPA explained 95.41% and 71.69 % of the total variance observed, respectively. MFA bidimensional map explained 91.85%, with high level of concordance among the samples regards their position with RV value of 0.92 (p=0.02). Overall, PAE presented an a adequate method to generate a sensory vocabulary of probiotic yogurts added of different sweeteners and prebiotic ingredients