Food and agricultural chemists strive to understand the chemistry that leads to safe, acceptable foods that are considered to be high in quality by consumers. Ag/Food chemists have a long history in the development of analytical methods to identify and quantitate sensory-active compounds in foods and ingredients. While modern methods such as nose-space MS, retro-nasal simulation, analytical flavor-chemometrics and fMRI have advanced the understanding of dynamic sensory signal transduction, significant challenges remain. This presentation will review areas of research that are poised to further the understanding of the origins of food sensory perception. Our sensations during consumption of food are triggered by a range of stimuli and sensory modalities such as taste, aroma, texture, temperature and a range of others. Their integration into a perceptual concept is, accordingly, complex. Physiological processes such as oral and nasal chemistry, and biochemistry, play important roles in our chemical senses, while behavioral aspects such as oral processing need to be considered. An important research area to gain further the understanding involves the integration of sensory perception and cognition, with the underlying processes of neurobiology.

Understanding sensory perception of food: Review of current challenges and needs

245th National Meeting (2013)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.