Sensory thresholds are used to determine the potential of substances at low concentrations to impart odor, taste, skinfeel, etc. to some form of matter.

Thresholds are used, for example, in setting limits in air pollution, in noise abatement, in water treatment, and in food systems.

Thresholds are used to characterize and compare the sensitivity of individuals or groups to given stimuli, for example, in medicine, ethnic studies, and the study of animal species.

1. Scope

1.1 The definitions and procedures of this practice apply to the calculation of individual thresholds for any stimulus in any medium, from data sets of intermediate size, that is, consisting of more than 20 to 40 3-AFC presentations per individual. A group threshold may be calculated using 5 to 15 individual thresholds.

1.2 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

E122 Practice for Calculating Sample Size to Estimate, With Specified Precision, the Average for a Characteristic of a Lot or Process

E679 Practice for Determination of Odor and Taste Thresholds By a Forced-Choice Ascending Concentration Series Method of Limits

CEN Standard

ISO Standard

Keywords

air pollution; odor; panel; sensory evaluation; taste; 3-Alternative Forced-Choice Presentation; threshold; water pollution

ICS Code

Citing ASTM Standards

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