In the initial phase of screening panel applicants for a study on cat foods, participants were required to both describe the products and give their personal ratings on their preferences. This task aimed to gather subjective opinions alongside objective descriptions, creating a comprehensive view of the products.

Surprisingly, the average ratings from the panel fell between "like mildly" and "neither like nor dislike." This indicates that, despite potential variations in cat food, the overall sentiment from the tasters did not show strong enthusiasm, leaving the author, Mary Roach, quite astonished by such lukewarm responses.