SIST EN ISO 8586:2014

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
01-september-2013
6HQ]RULþQDDQDOL]D6SORãQDQDYRGLOD]DL]ELUDQMHXUMHQMHLQQDG]LUDQMHL]EUDQLK
RFHQMHYDOFHYLQL]YHGHQFHYVHQ]RULþQHJDRFHQMHYDQMD,62
Sensory analysis - General guidelines for the selection, training and monitoring of
selected assessors and expert sensory assessors (ISO 8586:2012)
Sensorische Analyse - Allgemeiner Leitfaden für die Auswahl, Schulung und
Überprüfung ausgewählter Prüfer und Sensoriker (ISO 8586:2012)
Analyse sensorielle - Lignes directrices générales pour la sélection, l'entraînement et le
contrôle des sujets qualifiés et sujets sensoriels experts (ISO 8586:2012)
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: FprEN ISO 8586
ICS:
03.100.30 Vodenje ljudi Management of human
resources
67.240 6HQ]RULþQDDQDOL]D Sensory analysis
kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013 en
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013


EUROPEAN STANDARD
FINAL DRAFT
FprEN ISO 8586
NORME EUROPÉENNE

EUROPÄISCHE NORM

June 2013
ICS 03.100.30; 67.240 Will supersede EN ISO 8586-2:2008
English Version
Sensory analysis - General guidelines for the selection, training
and monitoring of selected assessors and expert sensory
assessors (ISO 8586:2012)
Analyse sensorielle - Lignes directrices générales pour la Sensorische Analyse - Allgemeiner Leitfaden für die
sélection, l'entraînement et le contrôle des sujets qualifiés Auswahl, Schulung und Überprüfung ausgewählter Prüfer
et sujets sensoriels experts (ISO 8586:2012) und Sensoriker (ISO 8586:2012)
This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for unique acceptance procedure. It has been drawn up by the Technical
Committee CEN/SS C01.

If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which
stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other language
made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC Management
Centre has the same status as the official versions.

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and United
Kingdom.

Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are aware and to
provide supporting documentation.

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without notice and
shall not be referred to as a European Standard.


EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR STANDARDIZATION
COMITÉ EUROPÉEN DE NORMALISATION

EUROPÄISCHES KOMITEE FÜR NORMUNG

Management Centre: Avenue Marnix 17, B-1000 Brussels
© 2013 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. FprEN ISO 8586:2013: E
worldwide for CEN national Members.

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
FprEN ISO 8586:2013 (E)
Contents
Page
Foreword .3


2

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
FprEN ISO 8586:2013 (E)
Foreword
The text of ISO 8586:2012 has been prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 34 “Food products” of the
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has been taken over as FprEN ISO 8586:2013.
This document is currently submitted to the Unique Acceptance Procedure.
This document will supersede EN ISO 8586-2:2008.
Endorsement notice
The text of ISO 8586:2012 has been approved by CEN as FprEN ISO 8586:2013 without any modification.

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 8586
First edition
2012-12-15
Sensory analysis — General guidelines
for the selection, training and
monitoring of selected assessors and
expert sensory assessors
Analyse sensorielle — Lignes directrices générales pour la
sélection, l’entraînement et le contrôle des sujets qualifiés et sujets
sensoriels experts
Reference number
ISO 8586:2012(E)
©
ISO 2012

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
ISO 8586:2012(E)

COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DOCUMENT
© ISO 2012
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the
address below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail copyright@iso.org
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO 2012 – All rights reserved

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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
ISO 8586:2012(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Selection of assessors . 2
4.1 General . 2
4.2 Recruitment, preliminary screening and initiation . 2
4.3 Background information and preselection . 5
4.4 Screening . 6
5 Training of assessors. 9
5.1 Principle . 9
5.2 General . 9
5.3 Assessment procedure .10
5.4 Training of colour, taste, odour and texture .10
5.5 Training in detection and recognition of special tastes and odours .14
5.6 Training in the use of scales.15
5.7 Training in the development and use of descriptors (profiles) .16
5.8 Practice .16
5.9 Specific product training .16
6 Final choice of panels for particular methods .16
6.1 Principle .16
6.2 Difference assessments .17
6.3 Ranking assessment .17
6.4 Rating and scoring .17
6.5 Qualitative descriptive analysis .17
6.6 Quantitative descriptive analysis .17
6.7 Assessors for particular assessments .18
7 Training of experts .18
7.1 General .18
7.2 Sensory memory.18
7.3 Semantic and metric learning of sensory descriptors .19
7.4 Building up a thesaurus of descriptors .19
7.5 Training on assessment conditions .19
8 Monitoring and testing of performance of selected assessors and expert
sensory assessors .19
8.1 Objectives.19
8.2 Principle .19
8.3 Analysis of the results .20
9 Management and follow-up of the group .20
9.1 Motivation .20
9.2 Maintaining of skills .21
9.3 Renewal .21
9.4 Retraining .21
Annex A (informative) Repeatability and reproducibility of assessors and panels .22
Annex B (informative) Use of analysis of variance in the choice of selected assessors for scoring .23
Annex C (informative) Example of practical application
.26
Bibliography .28
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Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting.
Publication as an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the member bodies
casting a vote.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO 8586 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 34, Food products, Subcommittee SC 12,
Sensory analysis.
This first edition of ISO 8586 cancels and replaces ISO 8586-1:1993 and ISO 8586-2:2008. The main
requirements and criteria for the selection, training and monitoring of selected assessors and of expert
sensory assessors have been revised to summarize the information given in ISO 8586-1:1993 and
ISO 8586-2:2008.
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Introduction
A sensory analysis panel constitutes a true “measuring instrument”, and consequently the results of the
analysis depends on its members.
The recruitment of persons willing to participate in a panel therefore needs to be carried out with care
and to be considered as a real investment, both in time and money.
Sensory assessment can be performed by three types of assessors:
— sensory assessors;
— selected assessors;
— expert sensory assessors.
“Sensory assessors” are any people taking part in a sensory test. They can be “naive assessors” who do
not have to meet any precise criterion, or “initiated assessors” who have already participated in sensory
tests (see ISO 5492:2008, 1.5).
“Selected assessors” are chosen for their ability to perform a sensory test (see ISO 5492:2008, 1.6).
“Expert sensory assessors” are selected assessors with a demonstrated sensory sensitivity and with
considerable training and experience in sensory testing, who are able to make consistent and repeatable
sensory assessments of various products (see ISO 5492:2008, 1.8).
It is necessary to undertake a preliminary selection of the candidates at the recruitment stage, in order
to eliminate those who would be unsuited for sensory analysis. However, the final selection can only be
made after selection and training. The selection and training methods to be employed depend on the
tasks to intend for the “selected assessors” and “expert sensory assessors”.
Sensory assessors work as a panel which is managed by a panel leader. In certain cases (especially for
descriptive sensory analysis), the panel may be divided into specialized subgroups.
The recommended procedure involves:
a) recruitment and preliminary screening of naive assessors;
b) familiarization of naive assessors who are to become initiated assessors;
c) selection of initiated assessors in order to determine their ability to perform particular tests, who
then become selected assessors;
d) possible training of selected assessors to become expert sensory assessors.
The exact procedures covered by a) and b) and the nature of the tests performed in c) and d) depend on
the tasks intended for the panel.
Expert sensory assessors have demonstrated particular acuity and reproducibility in panel work, and
have developed a good long-term sensory memory, allowing reliable comparative judgements, possibly
in the absence of control samples.
The panel leader is responsible for the general monitoring of the group of expert sensory assessors
and for their training. The expert sensory assessors are not responsible for the choice of tests used, the
presentation of the samples or for the interpretation of results. These matters are the responsibility of
the panel leader who also decides how much information is given to the panel.
The performance of selected assessors should be monitored regularly to ensure that the criteria by
which they were initially selected continue to be met.
The entire process is illustrated in Figure 1.
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According to
Recruitment
Clause 4
Naïve sensory assessors
Familiarization
Initiatedsensory assessors
SELECTION
According to
Clause 5
Selected sensory assessors
According to
Final choice of panels for particular methods
Clause 6
According to
Selected assessors (difference, ranking, rating) Assessorsselected in order to become
Clause 7
Monitoring and testing of performance Training
According to
Monitoring and testing of performance
Clause 8
Expert sensory assessors
Figure 1 — Entire process
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kSIST FprEN ISO 8586:2013
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 8586:2012(E)
Sensory analysis — General guidelines for the selection,
training and monitoring of selected assessors and expert
sensory assessors
WARNING — This document does not purport to address all of the safety problems, if any,
associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user to establish appropriate safety and
health practices and to ensure compliance with any national regulatory conditions.
1 Scope
This International Standard specifies criteria for the selection and procedures for the training and monitoring
of selected assessors and expert sensory assessors. It supplements the information given in ISO 6658.
2 Normative references
The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 5492:2008, Sensory analysis — Vocabulary
ISO 6658, Sensory analysis — Methodology — General guidance
ISO 8589, Sensory analysis — General guidance for the design of test rooms
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 5492 and the following apply.
3.1
repeatability
precision under repeatability conditions
Note 1 to entry: Repeatability can be expressed quantitatively in terms of the dispersion characteristics of the results.
[ISO 3534-2:2006, 3.3.5]
Note 2 to entry: Repeatability related to sensory analysis is defined as a measure of the agreement between
assessments on the same sample under the same conditions. See Table A.1.
3.2
repeatability conditions
observation conditions where independent test/measurement results are obtained with the same
method on identical test/measurement items in the same test facility or measuring facility by the same
operator using the same equipment within short intervals of time
Note 1 to entry: Repeatability conditions include:
— the same measurement procedure or test procedure;
— the same operator;
— the same measuring or test equipment used under the same conditions;
— the same location;
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— repetition over a short period of time.
[ISO 3534-2:2006, 3.3.6]
Note 2 to entry: Short intervals of time related to sensory analysis are defined as the repetition over the same session.
3.3
reproducibility
precision under reproducibility conditions
Note 1 to entry: Reproducibility can be expressed quantitatively in terms of the dispersion characteristics
of the results.
Note 2 to entry: Results are usually understood to be corrected results.
[ISO 3534-2:2006, 3.3.10]
Note 3 to entry: Reproducibility related to sensory analysis is defined as a measure of the agreement between
assessments on the same sample under different conditions for assessors and panel. See Table A.1.
3.4
reproducibility conditions
observation conditions where independent test/measurement results are obtained with the same
method on identical test/measurement items in different test or measurement facilities with different
operators using different equipment
[ISO 3534-2:2006, 3.3.11]
Note 1 to entry: Reproducibility conditions related to sensory analysis may include different times (sessions),
different environments and different panels. See Table A.1.
4 Selection of assessors
4.1 General
The following general characteristics are desirable for willing participants for training:
a) they shall be motivated and interested in further developing their sensory skills;
b) they shall be willing to participate.
4.2 Recruitment, preliminary screening and initiation
4.2.1 General
To recruit candidates and to select those most suitable for training as selected assessors, follow 4.2.2 to 4.2.5.
4.2.2 Recruitment
Three questions arise when recruiting persons to form a sensory analysis panel.
— From where should people be sought to constitute the group?
— How many people shall be selected?
— How shall the people be selected?
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4.2.3 Types of recruitment
4.2.3.1 General
Two types of recruitment are available to organizations:
— through the personnel department of the organization (internal recruitment);
— recruit people from outside the organization (external recruitment).
It is possible to constitute a mixed panel from both types of recruitment.
4.2.3.2 Internal recruitment
Internal candidates are recruited from their office, plant or laboratory staff. It is advisable to avoid
those persons who are too personally involved with products or projects being examined, in particular
those involved at the technical or commercial level, because they may cause the results to be biased.
In this type of recruitment, it is vital that the organization’s general management and hierarchy provide
their support and make it known that sensory analysis is considered as forming part of everyone’s work.
This can be made known at the hiring stage of the personnel.
4.2.3.3 External recruitment
The recruitment is conducted outside the organization.
The most commonly used means for this purpose are:
— by phone and newspaper (recruitment through classified advertisement in the local press, in
specialized publication or in newspapers which are distributed free of charge, etc. — in this case,
all types of people can reply and it is necessary to carry out a selection);
— opinion poll organizations — some of these organizations can provide the names and addresses of
persons likely to be interested;
— in-house “consumer” files, compiled as a result of advertising campaigns or complaints;
— persons visiting the organization;
— personal acquaintances.
4.2.3.4 Mixed panel
A mixed panel may be formed using internal and external recruitment, in variable proportions.
4.2.4 Advantages and disadvantages of internal and external recruitment
4.2.4.1 General
Organizations may wish to use independent internal or external panels for different tasks.
4.2.4.2 Internal recruitment
4.2.4.2.1 Advantages
The advantages are:
— the people are available;
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— it is not necessary to make provision for any payment (however, in order to maintain interest, it may
be desirable to offer incentives);
— a better confidentiality vis-à-vis the results is ensured, which is particularly important for
research work;
— assurance of panellist punctuality.
4.2.4.2.2 Disadvantages
The disadvantages are:
— problems related to the hierarchy of the organization;
— candidates are influenced in their judgements by knowledge of the products;
— it is difficult to allow for the evolution of the organization’s products (people are influenced by their
changing familiarity with the organization’s products);
— replacement of candidates is more difficult (limited number of persons in small organizations);
— less choice of people;
— lack of availability;
— conflict of priorities.
4.2.4.3 External recruitment
4.2.4.3.1 Advantages
The advantages are:
— a wide range of choice;
— a subsequent supply of new persons by word of mouth;
— no problems with hierarchy;
— much easier selection, without the risk of offending people if they are unsuitable;
— easy availability.
4.2.4.3.2 Disadvantages
The disadvantages are:
— the method is expensive (remuneration, paperwork);
— this method is better suited to urban communities where there is a sufficient number of inhabitants;
in rural areas, it may not be easy to obtain sufficient suitable people in the area, but advantage
can be taken of co-operatives (e.g. milk, wine) — in this case, the risk that some candidates are
influenced in their judgment because of their experience shall be taken into account;
— since it is necessary that the individuals be available, a disproportionate number of retired people,
unemployed women or students are sometimes encountered because it is more difficult to recruit
those in full-time employment;
after having paid for the selection and training, there is a risk that people leave at a moment’s notice.
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4.2.5 Number of persons to be selected
Experience has shown that, after the recruitment, the selection procedures eliminate approximately
half the people for reasons such as gustative sensitivity and material conditions.
The number of persons to be recruited varies depending on the following elements:
— the financial means and the requirements of the organization;
— the types and frequency of tests to be conducted;
— whether or not it is necessary to interpret the results statistically.
It is highly desirable that a panel has at least 10 selected assessors. At least two or three times the number
of persons actually required to constitute the final panel should be recruited, e.g. in order to obtain a panel
of 10 persons, 40 to 60 persons should be recruited and a minimum of 20 persons should be selected.
For specialized purposes and different types of sensory tests, a
...