Comparación de la escala hedónica de nueve puntos con la escala hedónica general de magnitud (gLMS) utilizada por personas de dos regiones de América Latina

Affective scales measure how much a person likes or dislikes a food product. There are three types of affective scales: category scales as the hedonic nine point scale, ratio scale, and category ratio scales as the hedonic general labeled magnitude scale (gLMS). The objective of this study was to compare the hedonic nine point scale with the hedonic general labeled magnitude scale using people from two regions of Latin America. The study used a total of 400 panelists, divided in four groups (nine point hedonic scale: Central American panelists and South American panelists; hedonic general label magnitude scale: Central American panelists and South American panelists); each panelist evaluated four products: two high acceptance and two low acceptance products. ANDEVA, Tukey means separation, and correlation analyses were done. Both scales were able to differentiate between products of high and low acceptability, but South American panelists were able to differentiate the two low acceptability products with the hedonic gLMS scale. Additionally only the hedonic gLMS scale found difference within regions for one of the products (anise flavor yogurt). Neither one of the scales was able to find difference according to gender. The hedonic gLMS scale was able to identify eight significant correlations while the hedonic nine point scale was able to identify only two significant correlations between products and sensations from memory. Investigation in hedonic scales used in Spanish is of high importance in the food sector of Latin America.