Sensory and hedonic perception of gluten-free bread : comparison between celiac and non-celiac subjects

During the last decade, considerable efforts have been directed towards improving the gluten-free product quality from the points of view both technological and nutritional. Nevertheless, poor attention has been devoted to the sensory properties of such products. The few studies considering the sensory aspects may have little significance because they mainly involved non-celiac individuals, which are not regular consumers of gluten-free products. The purpose of this paper is therefore to compare sensory and hedonic perception of celiac (8 assessors and 21 consumers) and non-celiac (12 assessors and 85 consumers) subjects in order to establish whether the two groups might be considered as not significantly different in sensory testing. Results showed no difference between the two groups in the description and perception of gluten-free bread (GFB) and that the choice of bread was based upon the same sensory attributes. For both groups, preference was positively correlated with sensory descriptors such as Sweet Taste, Porosity and Softness, and negatively correlated with Salty Taste, Rubbery and Adhesiveness. Further research and a larger number of samples and consumers are required to draw general conclusions on this topic.