Four different mortadella samples were technologically characterized by physical/chemical and instrumental
analyses and were sensorially characterized by acceptance testing and check-all-that-apply (CATA) questions.
Samples were divided into three groups by using a principle component analysis (PCA) of the technological characteristics
and by using an internal preference map (IPM) of the sensory attributes from the acceptance test.
CATA divided these samples into four different external preference map (EPM) groups because each sample
was associated with different sensory attributes. The PCA indicated that there was a relationship between the
instrumental color and texture analyses and the CATA attributes, whereby identifying the terms that positively
or negatively contributed to sample acceptance. The CATA questions effectively discriminated between the
meat products regarding their sensory characteristics. In addition, these attributes were linked to chemical and
instrumental quality parameters. Thus, the CATA questions are a potential tool for evaluating and developing
novel products.