The main difference between organoleptic and sensory evaluation is that organoleptic evaluation is based on smell and taste, whereas sensory evaluation considers all the senses.
Organoleptic and sensory evaluation is the use of the human senses to evaluate consumer products. It is a scientific discipline that applies principles of experimental design and statistical analysis.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Organoleptic Evaluation
– Definition, Types, Importance
2. What is Sensory Evaluation
– Definition, Types, Importance
3. Similarities Between Organoleptic and Sensory Evaluation
– Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Organoleptic and Sensory Evaluation
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Organoleptic Evaluation, Sensory Evaluation
What is Organoleptic Evaluation
Organoleptic evaluation analyzes the characteristics of food, water, drugs, and consumer products using the two human senses, including smell and taste. Importantly, it can detect diseases and contamination. Also, it is a technique to detect foodborne pathogens that can cause food poisoning. Additionally, it can determine the effect of packaging materials on the odor and taste of food and pharmaceutical products. On the other hand, shelf-life studies use smell and taste to determine the safety of food for consumption. However, organoleptic evaluation is still used in low sample numbers to analyze the properties. Further, it serves as the primary screening to determine the properties of a sample. Therefore, it needs no further use of sensory evaluation to determine characteristics.
Figure 1: Olfactory System
Furthermore, an example of organoleptic evaluation is the measurement of the spiciness of the pepper. Also, the types of human sensory organs used in the organoleptic evaluation are the olfactory system and the tongue.
What is Sensory Evaluation
Sensory evaluation is the scientific discipline that uses the principles of statistical analysis and experimental design that use human senses such as sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Also, the sensory organs used in the sensory evaluation are the eyes, olfactory system, tongue, skin, and ear. Importantly, they evaluate the sensory properties of the food and consumer products. Most of the large consumer goods companies use sensory evaluation to analyze their products. Significantly, sensory evaluation differentiates all of a product’s sensory characteristics, providing a qualitative description of the product. Therefore, sensory evaluation provides objective facts about the product.
Figure 2: Sensory Evaluation
Moreover, there are two types of sensory evaluation. They are basic discrimination testing and descriptive analysis. Basic discrimination testing determines the difference between two products from each other. In contrast, descriptive analysis provides the characteristics of two or more products. On the other hand, there are different types of sensory tests. The sensory profile is the most classic form among them. It describes each product through a questionnaire. Meanwhile, holistic tests are another type of test that focuses on the product’s overall appearance.
Similarities Between Organoleptic and Sensory Evaluation
- Organoleptic and sensory evaluation are two methods of evaluating consumer products according to the human senses.
Difference Between Organoleptic and Sensory Evaluation
Definition
Organoleptic evaluation refers to the study of drugs using the organs of the senses. In contrast, sensory evaluation refers to a scientific discipline used to evoke, measure, analyze, and interpret human reactions to meat sensory characteristics as perceived by sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
Type of Senses
Organoleptic evaluation is based on smell and taste, while sensory evaluation considers all the senses, such as sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing.
Type of Sensory Organs
The organoleptic evaluation uses the olfactory system and the tongue, while sensory evaluation uses the eyes, ears, skin, tongue, and the olfactory system.
Conclusion
In brief, organoleptic and sensory evaluation are two methods to evaluate drugs and consumer products using human senses. Organoleptic evaluation studies drugs and consumer products using two senses: smell and taste. Therefore, it uses the olfactory system and tongue. In comparison, sensory evaluation studies drugs and consumer products using all human senses, including sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. Hence, it uses sensory organs such as the eyes, olfactory system, tongue, skin, and ear. So, the main difference between organoleptic and sensory evaluation is the type of human senses.
References:
- Sensory evaluation. Sensory Evaluation – an overview | ScienceDirect Topics. (n.d.).
Image Courtesy:
- “Olfactory System Large Unlabeled” By Andrewmeyerson – Own work (CC-BY SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
- “1413 Structure of the Eye” By OpenStax College – Own Work (CC-BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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