Paired vs. monadic: what is the difference?

Tools

Palatability describes how pleasant a food or drink is to its consumer. Tools for evaluating human food palatability usually include verbal and written feedback from the tester. When evaluating the palatability of dog and cat foods, researchers must use different tools.

Pets provide feedback on their preferences through food consumption and behaviour. Factors that are often measured include which food is sniffed first, how much food is eaten, how quickly it is eaten, how the pet behaves before, during and after eating the food, and how pets eat the food over a period of many days. Researchers use this data to understand pet preferences and, in combination with other factors, make important decisions about pet food diets.

Two types of assessment

The two main types of palatability assessment for pets are paired comparison (two-bowl) and monadic (single-bowl). Paired comparison testing uses two bowls, where two different foods are presented. In monadic testing, only one bowl of food is presented. Which one is better? It depends on what question is being asked. The protocols for each assessment provide different insights and data outputs.

Protocols

Protocols can be tailored to a customer’s specific need. The following information discusses the general protocols most widely used.

Paired comparison protocol

• test diets are the sole source of food and represent the daily caloric need of each animal
• most commonly 20 animals x 2 days
• bowls are switched to avoid side preference fed for a specific amount of time depending on the test
• first-choice data collected
• cats
  • RFID (radio frequency identification) system is used to automatically measure amount and frequency of consumption
• dogs food
  • scales linked to a customized programme for consumption data analysis
  • both bowls are removed when one is emptied