Page 60 - FoodFocusThailand No.162 September 2019
P. 60
STRATEGIC R & DD
STRATEGIC R &
Sensory Evaluation
for Effective Product Development
Food is one of the basic human needs, people eat food every day. Most of the time, even though people do not
know about sensory evaluation in the scientific sense, after tasting a dish they naturally evaluate it and form
an opinion about the food. It is also considered sensory evaluation when a person simply comments on the
quality of food in his or her daily life. Sometimes, they also express the characteristics of foods and materials
by unconsciously using the five senses of human, which are sight (visual sense), smell (olfactory sense), taste
(gustatory sense), touch (somatosensory sense) and hearing (auditory sense). If there is any strong stimulation
in either of these senses, a change of emotions usually takes place.
Meanwhile, in the food industry, sensory evaluation has been On the other hand, for strategic marketing and R&D, it is generally
systematically used and developed for a period of time. Sensory known that educating consumers are crucial for the popularity of new
techniques are mainly used in quality control, R&D, and marketing with products. The five senses alone are not effective enough, extra sense
differing strategies. In any case, there are three major factors to be or feeling like the sixth senses is sometimes required for creating
considered to obtain reliable results for evaluated products. They are innovative products. If you have belief that this product can be
1
as follows: successful, then just do it. Regardless of a product’s success in the
1. Test controls - The test room environment, the type of serving market, feedback will be analysed scientifically and statistically to help
platform (e.g. a booth or a round table), the lighting, the room's indoor the next R&D and marketing project to be more successful.
air quality and ventilation, the preparation area, the entrance and exit When developing a new product in the market, sensory evaluation
areas. is a key aspect in the entire process. Prototype and recipe development:
2. Product controls - The equipment used, the way samples are setting expected characteristics of target quality; Shelf-life study:
screened, prepared, numbered, coded, and served. monitoring the change of each attribute; Production and quality control:
3. Panel controls - The procedures used by a panellist evaluating controlling quality in large scale production lines. Generally, sensory
the sample in question. evaluation considers four basic attributes i.e. appearance, taste, aroma,
For quality control (QC), sensory evaluation is an important tool for and texture. For instance, in the making of Japanese soy sauce, the
ensuring the consistency of product quality. QC personnel must be following aspects are considered; appearance (colour, turbidity), taste
educated and trained in advance to be able to identify any abnormalities (saltiness, umami), aroma (fermented, treated with heat) and texture
in taste and smell not only in finished products but also in raw materials. (mouthful). In addition, once all related personnel are trained and capable
The ability to prepare standard samples and set the permissible range of conducting sensory evaluations at a consistent and acceptable
for each material is also essential for all members who conduct QC. It standard, they will then be able to communicate more efficiently with
is however important to note that both food materials and human senses staff across the organisation -- regardless of departments -- and thus
can be affected by temperature, humidity, and pH among other factors. shorten the product development period.
Therefore, quantified scientific data analysed with careful judgment helps Finally, it is a fact that there are particular R&D hit makers, and they
to reduce the margin of error for better results. For example, it is better are always sensible and keen for updated information. Trials and errors
to determine an acceptable range of peroxide value for a product are part of the business and being careful does not always lead to
containing unsaturated fats and oils as a scientific reference of rancidity. success.
60 FOOD FOCUS THAILAND SEP 2019