Check all that apply and free listing to describe the sensory characteristics of low sodium dry fermented sausages: Comparison with trained panel.

The urgent need for sodium reduction in meat products to enable healthy food choices has led food industry to search for more dynamic and fast methodological approaches to assess the sensory characteristics of their products. In the present study, dry fermented sausages with reduction in NaCl, replaced by KCl, CaCl2, and a blend of KCl and CaCl2 were evaluated for their sensory properties using a check all that apply questionnaire (CATA) and a free listing task. The results were compared with those of a trained panel using quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA). The absence of concordance was observed between the CATA and free listing towards the two bidimensional sensory maps and configuration of the samples in comparison to QDA. However, free listing was able to generate a similar and resumed vocabulary when compared to QDA. Our findings suggest the potential of free listing as sensory descriptive methodology in the development of reformulated food products with respect to sodium reduction.