Food Flavors & Quality

We hold certain expectations for food We hold certain expectations for food. Brainstorm food expectations with partner.

Food Expectations 1. Color – quality factor Relates to quality and/or perceived quality (ex: white and orange carrots = same taste/quality) We expect meat to be red Bananas to be yellow – not brown! Naturally occurring pigments, freshness, oxidation (air), etc. affect food color

Food Expectations 2. Texture – quality factor Gum to be chewy Crackers to be crisp Refers to qualities felt with fingers, tongue & teeth Changes in texture usually due to moisture status

Food Expectations 3. Size & shape – quality factor Expect foods to have certain sizes & shapes Easily measured Fruits & vegetables graded by size & shapes

Food Expectations 4. Taste– quality factor Expect foods to have certain taste 5 different tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami aka savory) Ex: milk to be lightly sweet not sour

* Each of the papillae (finger like projections or receptacles) contain many taste buds. * Most taste buds are on the sides, back, and tip of your tongue.

How Taste Work Tiny finger-like structures on papillae called microvilli with hundreds of receptors on them (areas on the cell wall that can tell if specific chemicals are near them) Send signals to the brain to acknowledge the specific taste and store it to memory The five different tastes (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami aka savory) affect the taste receptors

Scientific Controversy on Taste Buds… are certain areas more strong than others? View 1 - taste buds help perceive flavor – certain areas of tongue are more sensitive to certain flavors View 2 – areas disproven Most areas of the tongue can taste each of the five tastes

Taste Lab

Food Expectations 5. Smell– quality factor Expect foods to have certain smell or no smell Rancid foods occur when fat is oxidized and can lead to a sour or un-fresh smell Ex: molding bread Consumers anticipate a smell prior to a taste

How Smell Works Flavor = The combination of pure taste and smell (olfaction) Humans are usually able to distinguish over 4,000 scents, but some people are able to smell 10,000 different odor molecules Used primarily for safety and protection from outside dangers (leaking gas, rotten food, etc.

How Smell Works

Lifesaver Activity

Questions/ Comments on Food Expectations?

Sensory Science Part of food science Dedicated to finding ways to help humans accurately describe the flavors & other sensory properties of food (scent) Flavor – quality factor People differ in preferences

Measure Taste Best method – use taste panels – professionals or customers Other evaluation methods used – chemical & mechanical

Quality Standards Help ensure food quality Types Research – setup by company Trade – setup by members of an industry Government – some mandatory, some optional All help to provide common language for all involved Quality standards by USDA http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/standards

Cheese Food Quality Assessment http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT-5sEDse3E

Quality Control Manufacturing plants usually have some type of internal, formal, quality control Inspection duties Lab tests Oversee sanitation Guide research & development

Sensory Bias Humans avoid flavors after paired with gastric illness All senses are change detectors so after continuous exposure receptors stop responding Humans biased by opinion/others easily Past assumptions, comments Lighting, sound, temperature Prefer first samples over last – only handle 4-5 samples at a time

Sensory Taste Test – Market Research This is similar to how consumers would do a taste test for a company. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVsglhn- h3M http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7lw_vhxtNc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0TsqVKmj Aw