Electronic tongue for food sensory evaluation

Over the last few years, the sensory evaluation of various food types usually relied on a trained sensory panel. However, there are many drawbacks when the real needs of the food industry are considered because of panelists' subjectivity, the low number of samples, and the potential for food to be unsafe. Thus a device with novel performance is needed for food safety and public health to improve the quality of our daily lives. The electronic tongue can mimic the sensory perception of human taste and offset the weak points of sensory panels in sensory evaluation. Electronic tongue systems are dedicated to the automatic analysis of complicated compositions in samples and the recognition of their characteristic properties. This chapter provides an overview of significant contributions to the field of electronic tongues and their future perspectives, and focuses on the key concepts related to their design, applications in the food field, limitations and difficulties.