Editorial

SOLDESA: FREELY AVAILABLE SOFTWARE FOR DESCRIPTIVEANALYSIS DATA ACQUISITION

doi:10.1111/joss.12105

Sensory descriptive analysis generates a large amount ofdata that have to be introduced to computers for statisticalanalysis. A standard descriptive analysis of three samplescovering 20 descriptors performed by 10 assessors in dupli-cate means 1,200 values to be read. Initially these valueswere measured with a ruler and then typed into a computer.This system is time-consuming and can lead to mistakes.Over the years specialized software has been developed andmarketed whereby assessors mark the scales on a computerscreen with a mouse, thus eliminating time-consuming anderror-prone paper-and-pencil score sheets (CompusenseSensory Software, Ontario, Canada; Fizz Sensory AnalysisSoftware, Couternon, France; Sims Sensory Software, NJ).These programs not only cover data acquisition, they alsoinclude experimental design, data analysis and plottingtools. Additionally, they have modules covering differentsensory tests: descriptive, discrimination, consumer andtime intensity. The drawback of these systems is that manycompanies and institutions do not have the resources to buythem, thus limiting their analysis capabilities or obligingthem to time-consuming data reading.

We present Soldesa (acronym of “Software Libre delDepartamento de Evaluación Sensorial de Alimentos”),which is a freely available software system for sensory dataacquisition. The program was developed by the authors incollaboration with Elvex (Elvex Cooperativa de SofwareLibre, Buenos Aires, Argentina). The program was writtenin the open source Python language, and it must beinstalled in a server running on GNU/Linux as the operat-ing system. The computers installed in the individualsensory booths do not necessarily have to run under Linux,they do require an Internet browser.

As mentioned above, descriptive analysis generates a largevolume of data that have to be entered into statistical soft-ware for its analysis. In comparison, standard discrimina-tion tests such as the triangle or paired comparison tests area lot simpler to implement with paper-and-pencil question-naires. Due to this, the first development stage of Soldesacovered descriptive analysis.

The program receives an Excel® file with the design thatmust include: number of samples and their labels, numberof assessors, number of repetitions, number of sessions andorder of presentation. Using Soldesa, the panel leaderchooses the assessors, the type of scale and anchors, intro-duces (or selects from a file) attributes and individual

descriptors and activates the panel to be measured.Assessors can sit in any booth and log in to Soldesa usingtheir password. Once the measurements have finished, thedata are exported to an Excel® file, which is generated in thestandard format used by most statistical packages.

The program can be freely downloaded from our website:www.desa.edu.ar/servicios/SOLDESA. Currently there aretwo versions: English and Spanish. The user chooses whatversion to download. The machine you download Soldesato has to be running under the Linux/GNU system, prefer-ably using Ubuntu or Debian as operating systems. You willalso find “Soldesa’s User’s Guide.pdf,” which details thepractical and everyday use of the program with its differentfunctions. An abbreviated guide to the use of the programcan be found in Appendix S1 that accompanies this article.

As Soldesa is written in open code, it is hoped that oncethe program is available and downloaded users will contrib-ute additional modules to allow for experimental design,consumer questionnaires and other sensory tests (ranking,triangle, etc.). In our Department the program is fullyworking and is used by all our panel leaders. They easilylearned the use of Soldesa.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

Authors acknowledge the Agencia Nacional de PromociónCientífica y Técnica (PICT 2006- 2093) for financial aid.

GRACIELA RODRÍGUEZ1,2, GUILLERMO HOUGH2

and JORGE SECRETO3

1DESA – Departamento de Evaluación Sensorial deAlimentos, ISETA – Instituto Superior Experimental de

Tecnología Alimentaria, Nueve de Julio,Buenos Aires, Argentina

2CIC – Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas de laProvincia de Buenos Aires,

Nueve de Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina3Consultant, Nueve de Julio, Buenos Aires, Argentina

EMAIL: graciela@desa.edu.ar

SUPPORTING INFORMATION

Additional Supporting Information may be found in theonline version of this article at the publisher’s web-site:

Appendix S1. Guide to the use of the program

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Journal of Sensory Studies ISSN 0887-8250

233Journal of Sensory Studies 29 (2014) 233 © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.