Sensory analysis

The five senses Hear-fizzy drinks Smell-Fish and chips Touch-exploding candy See-attractive foods Taste-the last sense we use.

Carrying out sensory analysis Set up a quiet area or booth where people will not be disturbed. Do not let the tasters talk to each other. Give the testers, lemon water or a piece of apple or a dry cracker to clear the palate.

Fair testing Use same portions of food -all small. Use clean spoons or forks each time. Use 5 digit codes rather than the name of the food-this is blind tasting. Make sure the tester know what they are doing Give the testers paper on which to record their results.

Using sensory analysis Three kinds of tests Preference testing Discriminatory testing Attribute testing

Preference Testing Hedonic rating tests Testers indicate their opinions saying 1 dislike a lot or 5 like a lot. Paired preference tests Tester is given two samples of food and says which one they prefer.

Discriminatory Testing Used to tell the difference between two samples Triangle testing 3 samples given to tester. Two samples are the same and one is the odd one out. Can they spot the odd one. Possibly used on a healthier or low cost product. A not A One sample is given and then another two and are asked to identify which one is like the first sample.

Attribute testing known as star profiles Decide on the characteristics you want to test. Draw a radar chart with one leg for each attribute. Put five sections on each legs. (5-very strong to 1 very weak) Can be used to compare your ideal against the product you have produced. You will then have identified which areas you need to work on