Using rate-all-that-apply (RATA) methodology to include the consumer insights in the development of healthier beef burgers

The association between high-sodium meat products consumption and cardiovascular diseases leads to the reformulation toward a healthier product. In this scenario, measuring the consumer's perceptions about the changes in sensory attributes caused by the sodium or NaCl reduction is of special interest. The rate-all-that-apply (RATA) questions are a sensory tool that allows characterizing products and also helps in the discrimination of products due to the use of intensity scale; thus, in this chapter, the RATA questions were used to determine the sensory profile of beef burgers manufactured with reduced NaCl content with the addition of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). The chapter shows the theoretical framework, practical aspects, describes the results of the case study, and discusses the pros and cons of RATA questions. The results of the case study show that RATA was able to differentiate burgers with different NaCl contents, but the incorporation of microencapsulated fish oil as a source of PUFAs overcome the effect of NaCl reduction. Thus, it was not possible to discriminate samples using the sensory attributes caused by the NaCl reduction. Future studies should focus on the use of RATA and CATA questions to discriminate complex foods, such as meat products, using sensory properties as descriptors.