Application of Survival Analysis to Estimate Equivalent Sweet Concentration of Low‐Calorie Sweeteners in Orange Juice

The aim of the present work was to apply survival analysis to estimate equivalent sweet concentration of low‐calorie sweeteners in orange juice. Five low‐calorie sweeteners were considered: sucralose and four samples of stevia. For each sweetener, a series of six orange juice samples with different sweetener concentration were prepared. Groups of 34 consumers evaluated the series of six pairs of samples, each composed of one reference sample (sweetened with 10% sucrose) and one sample with low‐calorie sweetener. Consumers were asked to complete a paired‐comparison test and to indicate which of the samples was sweeter. The elicited data were analyzed using survival analysis. For each sweetener, the percentage of assessors perceiving the sample with the low‐calorie sweetener as sweeter than the sample with sucrose as a function of sweetener concentration was determined. Equivalent sweet concentrations were determined for each sweetener and compared with estimations obtained using logistic regression and published data. Practical Applications Equivalent sweet concentration of low‐calorie sweeteners can be estimated by applying survival analysis to the data obtained from paired‐comparison tests. This approach is based on a simple sensory methodology. Its main advantage is the consideration of individual differences among assessors, which may lead to more accurate estimations than those obtained with other methodologies.