The production of pet food is a highly competitive and lucrative industry, representing a significant share of the international prepared-food market. Pet-food manufacturers have a considerable responsibility to develop products that are both palatable and nutritious for the pet, as well as convenient, economic and acceptable to the owner.

However, the optimization of sensory properties and acceptability of cat food can present considerable challenges. Cats are sensitive to flavour differences in the diet, discriminative in food selection and cannot verbalize their preferences. Behavioural studies are carried out by pet food producers; although simple preference and acceptance tests can be conducted, these are costly, time-consuming and often give data that are limited and equivocal. Variations between individual animals, previous diet and experience can also complicate the protocols.

Human taste panels have therefore been suggested as a more rapid and practical alternative. Although there are obvious differences in the physiological and perceptual systems involved in taste between cats and humans, there are also some broad similarities and common sensitivities. Food flavour, rather than colour or orthonasal aroma, has been shown as dominant in influencing acceptance/preference behaviour in cats. Human sensory data could be useful in assisting pet-food formulation but there is a lack of relevant published information.

A study by Pickering¹ developed a methodology for using human taste panels to assess canned cat food and to develop baseline flavour profiles for a range of commercial products. This included the development of evaluation protocols for homogeneous products and binary samples containing both meat chunk and gravy/gel constituents. A total of 18 flavour attributes and four texture dimensions were generated to describe the products. Principal component analysis could successfully discriminate between samples and revealed some groupings. Eight flavour attributes were correlated with overall liking scores. The usefulness and limits of sensory data from human taste panels need to be assessed in relation to acceptance/preference behaviour in cats.
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¹ Pickering, GJ (2009). Optimizing the sensory characteristics and acceptance of canned cat food: use of a human taste panel. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 93 (1) 52-60.

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