Sensory Analysis
What is Sensory Evaluation?
Sensory evaluation is the process of evaluating a product through the human senses (taste, smell, sight, touch and hearing). Sensory evaluation in foods is an analysis to meet consumer expectations, improve product quality and contribute to product development processes. This evaluation is carried out by testing characteristics such as taste, aroma, texture, color and general perception by a panel or individuals.
In sensory evaluation, the response of individuals to a stimulus is measured. Humans show three types of responses to stimuli.
Why Sensory Evaluation of Foods?
Sensory evaluation is performed in the food industry for several important reasons:
- Determining Product Quality: Sensory attributes such as the flavor, smell and texture of a food directly affect quality and acceptability. Sensory evaluation is used to measure whether these attributes meet consumer expectations.
- Product Development: Before a new product is introduced to the market, sensory analyses can be conducted to gauge consumer liking. These evaluations provide insights into whether the product will be successful in the market.
- Determination of Shelf Life and Storage Conditions: Sensory evaluation determines how the sensory properties of foods change during their shelf life. This analysis is critical to see the impact of storage conditions on quality.
- Competition Analysis: By benchmarking against competitor products, changes required to strengthen a product's position in the market can be identified.
Sensory Evaluation Methods in Foods
- Double-triple test
- Descriptive sensory analysis
- Panel test
- Rating test
- Scale assessment test
- Triangle test
The most important issue in sensory evaluation is the panel formation phase. Panelists can be organized in two ways: trained (laboratory panel) and untrained (consumers) panelists. Sensory evaluation is carried out by the panelists on four basic taste compounds (sweet, bitter, sour, salty).
As a result, the objectives of the sensory evaluation process in the food sector:
- Protecting the quality of food
- Develop new products
- R&D activities
- Improving the quality of an existing product
- Determination of consumers' taste tendencies
- Comparison of the product with different products
- Product rating
- Determination of storage durability
- Identifying market trends
Various sensory evaluation methods such as descriptive, discrimination and acceptance tests can predict the success of products in the market. "Sensory and Panel Tests" are carried out on various foodstuffs in our laboratory serving in many parts of Turkey.
