PALATABILITY MEASUREMENT Kemin Symposium, May 2019 KEMIN - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

PALATABILITY MEASUREMENT Kemin Symposium, May 2019 KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 1

Overview P ALATABILITY MEASUREMENT 1. Introduction : what is palatability? 2. The different kinds of panels 3. The different testing methods 4. Conclusion : how to choose KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 2

Introduction : defining palatability PALATABILITY GLOBAL PALATABILITY USER EXPERIENCE Acceptance or attractiveness of Pets enjoyment Pet owner appreciation of • • • the food for the pet Measured by humans, the product • Measured by pet owners Measured through food intake through pet behaviour • • From pet feeding ……………………………………………………..………………………..…….to pet parenting KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 3

What influences palatability? Sensory Nutritional Calorie content Smell characteristics characteristics Protein content Taste Moisture level Texture Digestibility, ……. …… Environment and Previous methodology feeding experiences Individual differences KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 4

The different kinds of panels KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 5

Two main kinds of panels • Expert panels • In-home or consumer panels KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 6

Expert panels • Companies specialized in feeding studies with cats and dogs • Operate with kennels and catteries KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 7

Experts panels Panel size and composition • Most often 20 to 40 animals/test • Breed diversity can be limited • Age diversity is usually limited (not many senior animals) • Animals may or may not be dedicated to a specific kind of testing (dry or wet food) KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 8

Experts panels Catteries and kennels • Animals are cared for by animal technicians • Animal well-being should be a constant concern as it can impact image and quality of the measurements • Environmental enrichment is important (social and physical enrichment) KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 9

Expert panels Overview • Trained animal technicians • Controlled and stable environment • Limited time and effort to implement • Precise instruments (scales, software,…) E FFECTIVE TOOL FOR QUICK AND ROUTINE P RECISE MEASUREMENT MEASUREMENT • Limited animal diversity and limited food diversity • Testing environment and methods different from real-life feeding conditions T HE « TRUENESS » OF THE MEASUREMENT IS SOMETIMES QUESTIONABLE KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 10

In-home or consumer panels • Companies specialized in collecting data from consumers • Panels made of volunteer households • Tests are run at home, by the pet owner KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 11

In-home panels Panel size and composition • Panel set up specifically for each study to meet customer needs • Inclusion/exclusion criterion in order to be representative of the target population • Pets : breed, age, weight, lifestyle, feeding habits,… • Pet owners : purchasing habits, age, relationship with the pet, … • Panel size : large, most often 60 to 200 participants KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 12

In-home panels Protocols • Protocols : custom designed, great flexibility • Food intake : measured by weighing or visual observation • Behavioral data • Pet owner questionnaire  Challenge : to be both representative of real-life feeding conditions AND discriminant KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 13

In-home panels Overview  Environment and method have limited standardisation W ILL NOT DETECT VERY SMALL DIFFERENCES  Panel and testing conditions are close to real-life  Data enriched with pet owner feedback V ERY GOOD MARKET REPRESENTATIVITY KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 14

Panel comparison EXPERT PANEL IN-HOME PANEL Small differences are less easily Precision Can detect very small differences detected Implementation Fast Takes more time Panel Fixed composition Custom-designed representativity Segmentation is usually not possible Hyper segmentation is possible Standardized Testing Variable degree of standardization Not necessarily representative of real- conditions Market representative life feeding conditions Quality control easy to implement Quality control based on data auditing Control & Bias Possible biases due to previous feeding and panelist follow-up experience Variable, depends on the panel. Variable, depends on the panel. Costs Cost/day or cost/day/animal Cost/study. KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 15

Testing methods: Versus and Monadic KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 16

Testing methods The majority of testing methods are based on food consumption. Two tests dominate the market: • The preference test (or versus test) • The acceptance or liking test (or monadic test) KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 17

Evolution of palatability testing Incremental increase in Premiumisation Humanisation 2019 palatability through palatability Weight Management Enjoyment enhancers Versus tests used to measure the Increase in palatability is harder to see on the market • • palatability increase Questions emerge regarding quantities eaten as the only criteria • Monadic tests mainly used to verify in view of pet obesity • that food consumption is sufficient Pet to pet owner relationship gains importance, with strong • emotional bonds; pet owner expectations change Emergence of « new » methods to take into account these evolutions KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 18

Two-bowl test • Measures the preference of one food over another food • Versus, 2-bowl, 2-pan, forced-choice • Food quantities are weighed at the beginning and at the end of each meal to determine food intake • The prefered food is the most eaten food KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 19

Two-bowl test • Simultaneous presentation of 2 foods • In equal quantities • For a defined time period • The method must allow for the collection of individual data • Each bowl should contain enough food to meet the animals daily caloric intake • Usually done over 1 to 4 days KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 20

Two-bowl test - Methodology DOGS CATS 1 or 2 meals / day 2 meals per day or continuous free access to food bowls Food ration : adapted to each dog’s Food ration : may be individually needs defined, but is often the same for all cats Possible observation of the first choice Possible to record a first choice A minimum of 2 data sets should be collected, with a change in food position (left  right) to avoid measuring side-effects Test should be ended when a dog has Test ends when the predetermined eaten the equivalent of one food bowl time is up KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 21

Two-bowl test - criteria • Consumption ratios of diets A and B : 37%A / 63%B 1. Recording of quantities eaten in grams for each animal 2. Calculation of individual consumption ratios 3. Calculation of the average of the consumption ratios • First choice • First product tasted. Determined by olfaction. • Highly correlated to the consumption ratio for dogs KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 22

Two-bowl test - examples CATS DOGS * * * ** KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 23

Single-bowl test • Measures food acceptance or food liking. Can be used to determine food preference. • Monadic, one-bowl, single-bowl • Food quantities are weighed at the beginning and at the end of each meal to determine food intake KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 24

Single-bowl test • One food at a time • In a sufficient quantity to meet the animal’s daily caloric needs • For a defined time period • From one day to several weeks • The method must allow for the collection of individual data • Strong impact of the serving size KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 25

Single-bowl test • Single product testing � To measure product acceptance. • Multiple product testing= sequential monadic • comparison and ranking of products cats • comparison to a target days cats 1 to 50 cats 51 to 100 • Balanced order design day 1 product 1 product 2 day 2 product 1 product 2 day 3 product 2 product 1 day 4 product 2 product 1 KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 26

Single-bowl test : criteria • Food intake of diet A (and diets B, C,…) • Expressed in grams, in case of identical initial food rations • Expressed in intake ratio, in case of different initial servings (IR = food eaten / food given) • Distribution of consumptions � % of refusals � % of finished bowls KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 27

Single-bowl test - Example * * * KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 28

Single-bowl test - Example * ** * KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 29

Monadic and Versus comparison VERSUS MONADIC Preference Acceptance or liking Relative measurement, gives little Gives indications on the liking of a information on whether a food was food liked or not Testing conditions are very different Testing conditions are very close to from real-life feeding conditions real-life feeding conditions Can detect very small differences Will not detect very small differences between 2 foods between 2 foods KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 30

Other palatability measurement methods KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 31

Pet owner evaluation • Pet food evaluation • Pet’s enjoyment • Pet owner expectations * ** KEMIN Symposium, May 2019 32