Chlorinous flavor perception in drinking water

• Published in: Water Science & Technology Vol. 49; no. 9; pp. 321 - 328
• Main Authors: Piriou, P, Mackey, E D, Suffet, I H, Bruchet, A
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: England IWA Publishing 01.01.2004
• Subjects: Acceptance tests; Chlorination; Chlorine; Chlorine Compounds - analysis; Community Participation; Disinfectants; Drinking water; Flavor thresholds; Flavors; Flavour; Humans; Odorants - analysis; Perception; Solubility; Taste; Taste Threshold; Temperature; Temperature perception; Testing; Total dissolved solids; Water quality; Water Supply - standards
• ISBN: 9781843394716; 1843394715
• ISSN: 0273-1223; 1996-9732
• DOI: 10.2166/wst.2004.0592

Chlorinous flavors at the tap are the leading cause of customers' complaints and dissatisfaction with drinking water. To characterize consumer perception and acceptance to chlorinous tastes, extensive taste testing was performed with both trained panelists and average consumers. Taste testing with trained panelists showed that chlorine perception is underestimated by disinfectant flavor thresholds reported in the literature. However, trained panelists significantly overestimate the average consumer's ability to perceive chlorine. In addition, consumer perception seems to be influenced by the chlorination practices of the country they live in. Among water quality characteristics that may influence chlorine perception, temperature was not found to induce any significant change. The influence of total dissolved solids (TDS) on chlorine perception remains unclear and, as reported elsewhere, background tastes such as musty, may significantly impact chlorine threshold.