Abstract
This paper discusses the comprehensive and practical training that was delivered to students in a university classroomon how sensory evaluation can be used to determine acceptability of food products. The report presents how studentsused their training on sensory evaluation methods and analysis and applied it to improving and predicting acceptabilityof new innovative products that they developed. Students were exposed to and trained on performing some of the majorsensory test methods, including discrimination, descriptive, and affective tests. They were also exposed to exerciseswhich involved them physically setting up a test area, presenting samples that were coded and properly displayed,collating data from sensory evaluation questionnaires, statistical analysis of data collated and the use of the results ofthe analysis to make decisions on product acceptability and improvement. Students successfully applied their trainingand were able to not only get feedback on the specific food characteristics of their products that could be improved butwere also able to conclude that the products they presented to the panelists were acceptable and that the panelists had ahighly positive attitude towards eating the products and even purchasing if these were to become available in themarket. Since appropriate statistical analysis was applied for the different sensory evaluation methods used for each ofthe different products, valid information and conclusions that can prove product quality and acceptability was gatheredand can be presented to any product development and marketing departments in any food and beverage company thatmay wish to adopt and produce these products.
Highlights
1.1 Challenges in Ensuring Consumer Acceptability and Market Success of ProductsProduct developers make use of many tools in the development of a product
Students were given a budget of TTD200.00 and challenged to use their technical and comprehensive knowledge in food product development, packaging and labelling and demonstrate their ability to adapt to professional situations using their creativity, analysis, synthesis, evaluation and interaction
Staff and children of staff were recruited from the University with the use of fliers and class announcements to conduct sensory evaluation tests
Summary
1.1 Challenges in Ensuring Consumer Acceptability and Market Success of ProductsProduct developers make use of many tools in the development of a product. These tools include for example, chemical tests, microbiological procedures and the use of physical equipment to determine elasticity, hardness, viscosity, color intensity and more It is possible for food products to reflect similar measurements or results when these tools are applied individually, yet still result in different perceptions, acceptability or preferences on consumption of the product. Grading methods for food and beverage products, traditionally involved one or two trained “experts” assigning quality scores on the appearance, flavour and texture of the products based on the presence or absence of predetermined defects These traditional judging methods have several shortcomings: they can’t predict consumer acceptance; their quality assessments are subjective; assigning quantitative scores is difficult; and they don’t combine analytically oriented attribute ratings with affectively oriented quality scores (Claassen & Lawless, 1992). By using traditional methods of evaluation, some products with very different sensory characteristics, such as those identified by a product flavour profile, but with no product defect will obtain the same quality score
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