After evaluating all samples, subjects were asked a series of 17
questions related to remembered intensities of various stimuli (for
example, the brightness of the sun, saltiness of potato chips, and
the smell of a rose) on the gLMS (Bartoshuk et al., 2003). This pro-
cess was completed in order to give each subject a frame of refer-
ence for rating the PROP solution. After answering all questions,
subjects were instructed to place the entirety of the PROP solution
in their mouth, to swirl briefly, expectorate, and rate the intensity
of the solution. All data were collected using SIMS 2000 Sensory
Evaluation Software (Sensory Computer Systems, Morristown, NJ).
Longitudinal study
All subjects attended three sessions per week over a 16-week
period, during which they tasted tomato juice. Subjects were bal-
anced into two groups as described in section balancing subject
groups. Subjects in the abrupt salt reduction group received high
sodium juice (640 mg/237 ml juice) for the first four weeks, and
low sodium juice (136 mg/237 ml juice) beginning at week five
and for the duration of the study. Subjects in the gradual salt
reduction group received high sodium juice for the first two weeks
of the study. At week 3 and at each subsequent week, sodium con-
tent of juice was reduced by 12%, a value corresponding to an
experimentally determined difference threshold (Bobowski &
Vickers, 2012). The low sodium target was reached at week 14,
and low sodium juice was consumed for the duration of the study.
Final taste test
Subjects attended a final taste test following longitudinal data
collection. This taste test was identical to the initial taste test in
all aspects of testing protocol, except for the exclusion of PROP
solution.