1.1 This guide covers reasonable practices for designing and implementing sensory tests that validate claims pertaining only to the sensory or perceptual attributes, or both, of a product. This guide was developed for use in the United States and must be adapted to the laws and regulations for advertisement claim substantiation for any other country. A claim is a statement about a product that highlights its advantages, sensory or perceptual attributes, or product changes or differences compared to other products in order to enhance its marketability. Attribute, performance, and hedonic claims, both comparative and non-comparative, are covered. This guide includes broad principles covering selecting and recruiting representative consumer samples, selecting and preparing products, constructing product rating forms, test execution, and statistical handling of data. The objective of this guide is to disseminate good sensory and consumer testing practices. Validation of claims should be made more defendable if the essence of this guide is followed.

Table of Contents

Section

Introduction

Scope

1

Referenced Documents

2

Terminology

3

Basis of Claim Classification

4

Consumer Based Affective Testing

5

 Sampling

5.1

 Sampling Techniques

5.2

 Selection of Products

5.3

 Sampling of Products When Both Products Are Currently on
  the Market

5.4

 Handling of Products When Both Products Are Currently on
  the Market

5.5

 Sampling of Products Not Yet on the Market

5.6

 Sample Preparation/Test Protocol

5.7

Test Design—Consumer Testing

6

 Data Collection Strategies

6.6

 Interviewing Techniques

6.7

 Type of Questions

6.8

 Questionnaire Design

6.9

 Instruction to Respondents

6.10

 Instructions to Interviewers

6.11

 General/Overall Questions

6.12

 Positioning of the Key Product Rating Questions

6.13

 Total Test Context and Presentation Matters

6.14

 Specific Attribute Questions

6.15

 Classification or Demographic Questions

6.16

 Preference Questions

6.17

Test Location

7

Test Execution by Way of Test Agencies—Food and Non-Food
 Testing

8

Laboratory Testing Methods

9

 Types of Tests

9.2

 Advantages and Limitations of the Use of Trained Descriptive
  Panels in Claims Support Research

9.3

Test Design—Laboratory Testing

10

 Product Procurement

10.6

 Experimental Design

10.7

 Data Collection

10.8

 Data Analysis

10.9

Questionnaire Construction

11

Test Facility

12

Statistical Analysis

13

 Paired-Preference Studies

13.1

 Superiority Claims

13.2

 Parity Claims

13.3

 Paired Comparison/Difference Studies

13.4

 Analysis of Data from Scales

13.5

Keywords

14

Commonly Asked Questions About ASTM and Claim
 Substantiation

Appendix X1