Artificial intelligence in sensory and consumer studies of food products

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a scientific field that pursues, through techniques inspired by nature, the development of intelligent systems that mimic aspects of human behavior. Advances in AI have consolidated an area of knowledge known as machine learning, which comprises techniques that allow learning from experience. Although the number of AI-themed studies is increasing, the number of publications pertaining to AI and sensory studies is low. AI is becoming vital for sensory and consumer science owing to its ability in efficiently exploring and correlating data from instrumental and human testing to produce solutions that benefit the food industry, particularly consumers. This review presents recent studies that have applied AI-based solutions in sensory and consumer studies, where their advantages and limitations are highlighted.