Élelmiszervizsgálati Közlemények 62. (2016)
2016-12-31 / 4. szám - TUDOMÁNY - Sipos László - Ladányi Márta - Losó Viktor - Kókai Zoltán - Gere Attila: Érzékszervi bírálók egyetértésének nyomon követése
SCIENCE László Sipos1, Márta Ladányi2, Viktor Losó3, Zoltán Kókai1, Attila Gere1 Received: 2016. July – Accepted: 2016. September Monitoring the agreement of sensory panelists Keywords: consensus, sum of ranking differences (SRD) method, Page test, Cabilio-Peng multiple comparisons procedure 1. Summary It is an important theoretical question of sensometrics, as well as a practical issue of accredited laboratories, how to monitor and analyze the development of the agreement/consensus of the sensory evaluation group (panel), regarding the series of measurements in a given period. For the evaluation of the consensus of the individual judgements, the sum of ranking differences (SRD) method is a good evaluation alternative. The difficulty in analyzing rank sum patterns lies in the fact that the pairwise significant difference method for rank sum data was developed only a few years ago. In the present work, a combination of methods is recommended for tracing the consensus of sensory panelists. 1 Szent István University, Faculty of Food Science, Department of Postharvest Science and Sensory Evaluation 2 Szent István University, Faculty of Horticultural Sciences, Department of Mathematics and Informatics 3 MIRELITE MIRSA Zrt. 2. Introduction and literature review When monitoring performance, what is tested is whether the sensory judge or the sensory evaluation group (panel) is capable of recognizing, identifying and measuring the given property, as well as using and interpreting it the same way as other judges or evaluation groups (panels) [1]. Testing and improvement of trained and expert panelists, and the measurement of their performance can typically be realized through a standardized, multi-stage system that is based on feedback and realized under standardized conditions, preferably with some kind of software support. Performance evaluation methods of sensory tests are classified in the literature in several ways. The most common classification is based on the number of people performing the tests (a single panel member, a full panel or panels), but it can also be based on the mathematical method used (single or multivariate statistical methods). Sensory assessors are classified into three categories by the literature according to their training: naive / consumer panelists, trained panelists, expert panelists. The application of panelists with different training is necessary for different types of tasks, and performance evaluation methods are usually applied to tests performed by trained or expert panelists [2], [3], [4]. The solution of the quality management systems of testing laboratories accredited for sensory testing is the application of preventive and corrective actions, the task of which is the identification, prevention and elimination of non-conformities, i.e., of panelists evaluating differently from the group average. To do so, it is advisable to analyze the averages and medians of raw data on a box-and-whisker plot and, furthermore, to perform the most important descriptive statistics (minimum, maximum, standard deviation, kurtosis, skewness, range), in order to obtain a picture about the data structure and outliers. Graphical representation of the data can save time, and it also offers an effective way to investigate and evaluate the performance of the sensory panel. Monitoring the performance characteristics of the individual panelists is a key factor in the quality of the results of the sensory panel, because without it the result can be incorrect or unreliable. Obviously, examination of the sensory panel or comparison of several panels can only take place the evaluation at the individual level. The performance of the individual panelists is usually characterized by three classic in- Journal of Food Investigation – Vol. 62, 2016 No. 4 OF SENSORY PANELISTS MONITORING THE AGREEMENT 1334