SENSORY EVALUATION

CHAPTER 9
 INTRODUCTION

• Organoleptic analysis is a multidisciplinary

science used to understand human
perception and response to sensory
characteristics of food.
• Gold Standard serves as the benchmark for
the taste an flavor for food product
commercialization
 THE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT CHEF AND
SENSORY EVALUATION

• Chefs must work with cross- functional teams to

understand the consumers and to develop new
food products.
• Sensory tests provide valuable insight on how to
develop better more marketable products.
• Sensory evaluation is important in product
improvements, scale up, and shelf-life testing.
 TECHNICAL ASPECTS AND APPLICATIONS OF
SENSORY EVALUATION

• Consumer product research is a tool used to

understand consumers preference, liking and
attitudes towards product concepts and services.
• Qualitative Methods are used to help identify
needs and Quantitative Methods are used to
estimate the size of the opportunity.
• Discrimination Methods help determine some
similarities and differences between products.
 THE FIVE “IN” STEPS OF THE PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY

• The Five Innovation Steps use in the

product development cycle are: insight,
inspiration, interpretation, introduction, and
inspection.
• Descriptive Analysis is used to understand
sensory characteristics of food products.
 SENSORY METHODS

• Qualitative Methods are subjective

evaluations of products via interviews or
observations.
• Quantitative Methods involve
measurements and rating of products.
 QUALITATIVE CONSUMER RESEARCH

• A Focus Group is a small group used to

understand consumers perceptions and
opinions.
• In-depth Interview is a one-on-one interview
to understand attitudes and behaviors. It may
be used on sensitive or emotional topics.
• Ethnography is a study through observation
of a person’s habits.
 QUANTITATIVE CONSUMER RESEARCH

• Quantitative Consumer Research is used

to determine overall preference or
acceptance of a product using a large
group of representative consumers.
 PREFERENCE TESTS

• Acceptance Tests compare products

against each other and provide information
about products.
• There are four types of preference tests;
paired, rank, multiple paired, and selected
paired preferences.
 CONSUMER ACCEPTANCE TESTS

• Consumer acceptance tests measure overall

product acceptance and acceptability of
individual attributes (appearance, color,
flavor, texture, and so on.)
• Purchase intent is the likelihood if a
consumer will purchase a product.
• JAR (just-about-right) scale measures the
intensity of specific sensory attributes with
respect to the desired level.
 MEASURING CONSUMER EMOTION ABOUT FOODS

• Emotion evoked by products is becoming

more important for product differentiation.
 SENSORY DISCRIMINATION TESTS

• Discrimination tests are generally used to

determine, whether or not overall or
specific differences exist between two
potentially confusable samples.
• Descriptive analysis tests are used to
identify characteristics and quantify
products using s trained panel.
 BASIC SENSORY ATTRIBUTES

• Food attributes are perceived in two

consumption stages: approach or distal
stage and consumption or proximal stage.
• Appearance, odor, texture, flavor, and
sound affect humans perception of food.
• The trigeminal nerve is responsible for the
perception of food sensations such as
pungency and burn or heat in the eyes,
nose, and mouth.
MINIMIZING ERRORS IN SENSORY MEASUREMENTS

• Three main factors negatively affect

sensory results: physiological,
psychological, and physical errors.
• The test room and product must all be
controlled to maintain order and minimize
bias and maximize the sensitivity of
selected sensory methods and panelists
performance.
 CONCLUSION

• Sensory evaluation provides observational

and qualitative insights that help to
develop food products that include the
inputs of chefs and product developers.