Sensory profile analysis of spice extruded cereal formulated with rice bran and banana flour using Quantitative Descriptive Analysis (QDA)

This study aims to analyse the sensory profile of spice breakfast cereal (SBC). The SBC is developed with local material, including rice bran, unripe banana flour, brown palm sugar, and a blend of ginger, cinnamon, and lemongrass powder. Evaluation sensory profile applied with QDA to characterize the sensory profile of the formulated sample and commercial spice cereal. Ten trained panellists identified key sensory attributes, and PCA revealed that the first two principal components explained 86.28% of the total variance. The analysis demonstrated that the formulated samples (F1-F3) successfully developed a complex sensory profile dominated by spiced, sweet, and bitter flavors, effectively masking undesirable branny notes present in the control. While the methodology provided a comprehensive sensory map, the study was limited to a descriptive profile and did not assess consumer liking or preference for the identified attributes. Therefore, to directly inform product development, future research should integrate QDA with consumer acceptance testing to bridge the gap between sensory characterization and market preference.