Social media, new digital technologies and their potential application in sensory and consumer research

•A review of recent literature investigating social media.•Presenting the opportunities social media offers for crowdsourcing.•Presenting the opportunities social media offers for communication of health and food safety issues.•Presenting challenges for crowdsourcing and social media communication.•Addressing the need for future studies.

New digital technologies have changed the way people communicate and opened up for new ways of interacting with consumers via social media. This article reviews findings from recent investigations and present the opportunities and challenges social media offers for sensory and consumer science. After defining social media and giving a short overview of the different medium that exists, the focus will be on two aspects of specific interest: crowdsourcing and communication of health and food safety.