Analysis of the variability of food texture properties: Application to the fracturability of dry pet food.

Abstract

Food texture is affected by their material property and geometrical structure. Material properties are difficult to estimate when the size and shape of the samples cannot be standardized, for example, for snack or pet food. In addition, the intrinsic variability of material properties due to the recipe and the process cannot be neglected. But this cannot be easily distinguished from the variability of geometrical parameters using conventional methods. An innovative approach using stochastic finite element method is developed and is able to exhibit the major parameters influencing the variability of the response to mechanical testing. This methodology may be helpful to improve acceptance sampling control procedures, for example, by combining texture and size measurements when necessary, or by better determining the most robust response variables for decision-making.