Adapting and enhancing sequential profiling to understand the effects of successive ingestion, using the sensory characteristics of high intensity sweeteners as a case study

• This study adapted and enhanced the temporal methodology, sequential profiling.
• The method was enhanced by increasing ingestion volumes and number of attributes assessed.
• Sweetening agents were selected to investigate methodology enhancements.
• Successive ingestion impacted the sensory characteristics of sweetening agents.
• Enhancements to sequential profiling highlights the role of successive ingestion assessments during NPD.

Sensory science is continuously adapting to improve the assessment techniques available. Temporal methods evaluate the effect of time on the perception of sensory characteristics; however few techniques investigate the effect of total product ingestion. Sequential profiling offers the most complete assessment of attributes over successive ingestion, however it involves minimal product volumes compared to consumer eating and drinking behaviour. This study aimed to modify sequential profiling to increase the total ingestion volume and include a wider range of attributes in a case study of sugars and sweeteners. The ever increasing consumer demand for low-calorie sweetened products has highlighted the need to understand the sensory profiles of high-intensity sweeteners, particularly when ingested in larger volumes as in diet drinks. Increasing the number of attributes and the ingestion volume was found to enhance the sequential profiling method, allowing more significant differences between sweetening agents to be determined, which could be crucial to ensure consumer acceptance in the longer term. Understanding the effect of successive ingestion is a key stage in the development of sweetened products, especially with the successful enhancement of sequential profiling outlined in this study.