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What Temperature of Coffee Exceeds the Pain Threshold? Pilot Study of a Sensory Analysis Method as Basis for Cancer Risk Assessment
1
University of Applied Sciences Albstadt-Sigmaringen, Department Life Sciences, Anton-Günther-Str. 51, 72488 Sigmaringen, Germany
2
Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA) Karlsruhe, Weissenburger Strasse 3, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Foods 2018, 7(6), 83; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods7060083
Received: 25 April 2018 / Revised: 23 May 2018 / Accepted: 26 May 2018 / Published: 1 June 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Analysis of Sensory Properties in Foods)
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) evaluates “very hot (>65 °C) beverages” as probably carcinogenic to humans. However, there is a lack of research regarding what temperatures consumers actually perceive as “very hot” or as “too hot”. A method for sensory analysis of such threshold temperatures was developed. The participants were asked to mix a very hot coffee step by step into a cooler coffee. Because of that, the coffee to be tasted was incrementally increased in temperature during the test. The participants took a sip at every addition, until they perceive the beverage as too hot for consumption. The protocol was evaluated in the form of a pilot study using 87 participants. Interestingly, the average pain threshold of the test group (67 °C) and the preferred drinking temperature (63 °C) iterated around the IARC threshold for carcinogenicity. The developed methodology was found as fit for the purpose and may be applied in larger studies.
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Keywords:
coffee; hot beverages; temperature; esophageal cancer; thermosensing; sensory thresholds; methodological study
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MDPI and ACS Style
Dirler, J.; Winkler, G.; Lachenmeier, D.W. What Temperature of Coffee Exceeds the Pain Threshold? Pilot Study of a Sensory Analysis Method as Basis for Cancer Risk Assessment. Foods 2018, 7, 83.
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