2025 Volume 74 Issue 2 Pages 33-43
A sensory evaluation test was conducted using bulk-tank milk produced from dairy farmers under different feeding management to reveal relationships between feeding conditions on farms, chemical compositions of milk, and sensory evaluation properties. A survey was conducted on 24 farms with different feeding management, and each bulk-tank milk was collected. The milk was pasteurized by HTST pasteurization combined homogenization and was subjected to a sensory evaluation test using consumer panels. Sensory evaluation property of aroma (strength/preference), sweetness (strength), richness (strength), and aftertaste (strength/preference), and overall taste (preference) was measured. Each milk sample was analyzed for chemical compositions such as milk composition (general milk composition, fatty acid profile, and vitamin and carotenoid content), response values of taste sensing system, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The relationship between feeding conditions on farms, each chemical composition of milk, and each sensory evaluation properties was analyzed by Orthogonal PLS regression analysis. The feeding conditions on farms correlated strongly of the milk compositions and fatty acid profile, but relationship between the feeding conditions on farms and the response values of taste sensing system or VOCs was weak. The milk compositions and fatty acid profile had little correlation with sensory evaluation properties, but the response values of taste sensing system correlated to preference of aroma and aftertaste. The VOCs correlated strongly to most of sensory evaluation properties. Each of the sensory evaluation properties, in particular, aroma and aftertaste (good and bad) strongly influenced the overall taste of milk.
