panels to reach a consensus on the vocabulary in order to
achieve a common understanding of the terms. Cultural
differences in panel behaviour may be considerable,
especially when going from one continent to another or
from one culture to another. These differences can be
avoided by ensuring that the product is familiar, and that
the vocabulary is understood by all. As for scales, no
universal ones exist, and it seemed unnecessary for them to
be uniform. As has been documented, the panels’ learning
thresholds increase with training, and training always im-
proves performance, but obtaining consistent levels of
training with concurrent panels in different countries can
be challenging. Thus, comparing results from an inexperi-
enced panel with those of an experienced one might lead to
misleading conclusions.
For multinational brands, economic issues dictate
adherence to uniform product formulations across global
markets. To maintain comparable quality for these prod-
ucts, centralised discrimination testing at global headquar-
ters is practised. Although the lack of a universal scale for
cross-cultural consumer testing was acknowledged, the
unstructured line scale was considered the most robust and
unbiased scale for use with consumers across different cul-
tures (Cox, Clark & Mialon, 2001). Where different scaling
methods are used in different markets, the results are
interpreted independently in the respective markets against
norms/action standards appropriate to the particular mar-
ket. For consumer research across different cultures, the
context for the use and experience of the product under test
must be understood in order to clearly interpret and make
recommendations based on consumer responses.
Reference
Cox, D. N., Clark, M. R., & Mialon, V. S. (2001). A cross-cultural
methodological study of the uses of two common hedonic response
scales. Food Quality and Preference, 12, 119–131.
Available online 3 March 2006
Important considerations in cross-cultural sensory and
consumer research – Introductory overview
Anne Goldman
ACCE, Canada
E-mail address: agoldman@acceintl.com
The globalisation of companies and products has meant
increased demands for sensory insights from descriptive
panels and consumer tests in markets around the world.
Multinationals may address this by developing guidelines/
best practices that are followed across all country-specific
business units to give comparable data across countries and
cultures. In other business models, research is conducted
independently of the parent company, using the methods
that are favoured by that business unit and allowing the
results to be interpreted only within the context of that
country.
For an understanding of the implications of differences
in culture/ethnicity for sensory research, we must recognise
and consider customs, etiquette, religious beliefs, product
knowledge and attitudes, gender issues and socioeconomic
factors when designing a sensory test. For example, we
should take into account specific times of day, national
holidays or days of religious observance that should be
avoided for test dates, and foods or beverages that are
prohibited for religious or cultural reasons.
Differences in psychophysical judgments of tastes or
other sensory qualities based on culture are unclear.
However, differences in cultural preference are very evident
and are context-dependent, mirroring different dietary ex-
periences within different cultures. Panels should be
warned against the tendency to generalise, for example,
stating that Japanese like all foods salty. Much published
research with cross-cultural groups has used groups who
no longer reside in their indigenous culture. This approach
has merit when finding facts and screening products in
preparation for and prior to an in-country test, but it
should be viewed with caution when extrapolating the re-
sults to in-country behaviour.
Much can get lost or redefined in translation from one
language to another. In many cases, there is a lack of
equivalent terms or unique words across different lan-
guages, and substitution may result in a different meaning,
leading to confusion. In some countries, a number of dif-
ferent dialects exist, and the most appropriate one should
be selected for the population in the test. Where literacy
issues exist, alternative methods for collecting the required
responses are needed.
For many reasons, the adoption of a universal scale
across cultures and languages remains a challenge. This
challenge is related to issues such as absence or avoidance
by consumers of negative descriptors, avoidance of ex-
tremes or scale endpoints, and difficulties with translation.
For these reasons, it is also difficult to establish norms for
data from cross-cultural studies across world markets.
The key practical issue to consider before conducting
any cross-cultural study is the ability to get the test product
to the test site in an acceptable form for testing. In today’s
environment with heightened cross-border security and
regulatory requirements for imports, we see an increase in
the obstacles to ensuring the expedient delivery of test
products to testing sites around the globe.
Available online 23 March 2006
Using a Descriptive Sensory panel across
different countries and cultures
Delphine Le Me
´
e
Danone Vitapole, France
E-mail address: delphine.le-mee@danone.com
A Preference mapping study was run using two sensory
panels, one European, composed of 12 French panelists,
and one Chinese, composed of 11 panelists trained in
Abstracts / Food Quality and Preference 17 (2006) 646–649 647