title: Predicting consumer preferences for mineral composition of bottled and tap water.
abstract: The overall liking for taste of water was correlated with the mineral composition of selected bottled and tap waters. Sixty-nine untrained volunteers assessed and rated twenty-five different commercial bottled and tap waters from. Water samples were physicochemical characterised by analysing conductivity, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS) and major anions and cations: HCO3-, SO42-, Cl-, NO3-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, and K+. Residual chlorine levels were also analysed in the tap water samples. Globally, volunteers preferred waters rich in calcium bicarbonate and sulfate, rather than in sodium chloride. This study also demonstrated that it was possible to accurately predict the overall liking by a Partial Least Squares regression using either all measured physicochemical parameters or a reduced number of them. These results were in agreement with previously published results using trained panellists.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08026 Barcelona, Spain; CETAQUA Water Technological Center, Ctra. Esplugues, 75, 08940, Cornellà de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: stefan.platikanov@idaea.csic.es.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Platikanov
authors.affiliation: Aigües de Barcelona (AGBAR) Laboratory, General Batet, 5-7, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Alejandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hernández
authors.affiliation: CETAQUA Water Technological Center, Ctra. Esplugues, 75, 08940, Cornellà de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Susana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: González
authors.affiliation: CETAQUA Water Technological Center, Ctra. Esplugues, 75, 08940, Cornellà de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luis Cortina
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08026 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Roma
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tauler
authors.affiliation: Aigües de Barcelona (AGBAR) Laboratory, General Batet, 5-7, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: rdevesa@aiguesdebarcelona.cat.
authors.forename: Ricard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Devesa
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000838:Anions / Q000032:analysis; D001639:Bicarbonates / Q000032:analysis; D002118:Calcium / Q000032:analysis; D002412:Cations / Q000032:analysis; D002712:Chlorides / Q000032:analysis; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D008900:Mineral Waters / Q000032:analysis*; D008903:Minerals / Q000032:analysis*; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D013649:Taste; D014881:Water Supply
chemical_list: D000838:Anions; D001639:Bicarbonates; D002412:Cations; D002712:Chlorides; D060766:Drinking Water; D008900:Mineral Waters; D008903:Minerals; C031556:calcium bicarbonate; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Bottled and Tap; Chemometrics; Consumer preference; Taste