Testing for Sensory Threshold of Added Substances. Morten C. Meilgaard, International Consultant, 2938 Moon Lake Drive, West Bloomfield, MI 48323. J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 49:0128, 1991.

The Ascending Method of Limits test of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) was adopted for inclusion in the Methods of Analysis of the ASBC in 1980. The ASTM recently relegated it to the status of rapid method and adopted the procedure described in this article as its reference standard practice. In the Ascending Method of Limits test, a panelist receives only one three-alternative forced-choice (3-AFC) set per concentration; in the new ASTM practice, the panelist receives a minimum of five 3-AFC sets per concentration. The new practice permits the use of iterative computer programs and estimates the threshold itself rather than a number somewhere near the threshold. This review discusses the merits of adopting the new practice as a reference procedure and the Ascending Method of Limits test as a rapid procedure.

Keywords: Sensory analysis, Threshold, Ascending Method of Limits, ASTM standard practice E 1432