Using sensory analysis in Food Technology
Sensory analysis is used to evaluate food products Sensory analysis is used in industry and discovers details on: Flavour and taste Texture Appearance – Colour, shape, size Smell/Aroma Sounds
Sensory Analysis studies three main areas What does the product taste like? What are its sensory characteristics? How does a change in production, packaging or storage affect sensory characteristics
Sensory analysis in the Food Industry Sensory analysis is used at several stages during product development Companies can compare a competitor’s product Improve products by modifying or changing the ingredients Check that the specification is being met
Industry continued Monitor quality control by checking regular samples against specification Detect differences between products from different runs or batches Profile the characteristics of new products Describe specific characteristics
Industry Continued Demonstrate new products to marketing team Promote new or reformulated products to consumers Sensory analysis is carried out in controlled conditions
Which senses are used in Analysis? Sight – Appearance Smell and taste – Aroma and flavour Touch – Texture and mouthfeel Sound – Noise
Taste areas of the tongue
Sensory Analysis Tests Preference Tests – These supply information about people’s likes/dislikes of a product. Discrimination Tests – Aim to evaluate specific attributes ie Crunchiness
Preference Tests Pair comparison/preference test – a test which compares a pair of similar products looking at specific characteristics Hedonic tests – Test sample and grade 1=Dislike very much, 5=Like very much. Samples analysed for lowest/highest score Scoring tests – Samples are scored on a scale between like and dislike
Discrimination Tests Ranking – Decide on attribute to be ranked eg Crunchiness, allow people to evaluate samples and place them in rank order Star Diagram – Allows food products to be evaluated using a range of attributes
Star Diagram The test can be used to: Evaluate differences in similar products Gauge consumer response Analyse specific attributes Check a product meets its specification Compare similarities in a range of products Show opportunities for product development