Thinking outside the booth - the eating environment, context and ecological validity in sensory and consumer research

Foods are consumed not in perfect isolation, but with company, at events, and in situations where perception, hedonics and eating behaviors may vary. In ensuring that a panelist's behavior in the controlled environment of the sensory booth mirrors as closely as possible their behavior in the world at large, there is growing interest in introducing context into the sensory booth. Such context may arise from written evocations, the display of audiovisual information, immersion of the panelist within a virtual reality environment, or from testing at a field location. Recent research, as well as pertinent technological advances are summarized, along with suggestions for future areas of improvement regarding more immersive virtual environments.