Determination of the best formula to increase potato chips quality with the integration of consumer acceptance and laboratory testing

Abstract

Consumers’ demand for competitive product quality is a challenge for Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) producing potato chips. One of the constraints is the inconsistent quality of the production. Thus, it is necessary to determine a formula as a standard for optimization in production. This research aims to determine the best formula in the quality of the production process based on the integration of consumer assessment and laboratory testing. The analytical method for determining the best formulation was the Effectiveness Index (EI) and Multiple Attribute (MA) and it will be compared with the standard quality of potato chips (SNI 01-4031-1996). The research object was the SMEs cluster of the potato chip (9 units) in Batu City. The indicators for consumer acceptance tests include color, taste, aroma, wholeness, and crunchiness, while indicators for laboratory tests include moisture content, fat content, and free fatty acids. The results showed that the best performance of SMEs A and the worst of SMEs C compared to SNI01-4031-1996 as a basis for improvement in its critical processes. The results of determining the best formula show that the moisture content for SMEs A is still not suitable so that improvements in the drying and frying process are recommended.