Sensory Evaluation is

defined as A scientific
discipline used to evoke,
measure, analyze, and
interpret those responses to
products that are perceived
by the senses of sight, smell,
touch, taste, and hearing.
Sensory science is the study of the reactions
of the five senses - sight, hearing, smell,
taste and touch - to the characteristics of
physical matter.
The discipline does not just deal with "likes
and dislikes," but scientifically evokes,
measures, analyses and interprets
psychological responses to physical stimuli,
and thus belongs to the specialized field of
psychophysics.
"Sensory science," adopts a unique
approach to identification of the attributes
that matter most to the end-consumer.
It employs trained panellists," and where
possible sensitive instruments, to provide the
right guidance to the food manufacturers on
what perceived attributes need to be
incorporated into their products for their
marketing success.
Taste or gestation: This is a "chemical"
sense. There are four main types of tastes
that receptors(buds) in the tongue can
distinguish:
Sweet
Salt
Sour
Bitter
Smell or olfaction: This is a chemical" sense.
Unlike taste, there are hundreds of olfactory
receptors in our olfactory epithelium (where the
receptor are located).
Odour molecules have a variety of features and
can combine with many or few receptors.
It is known that there isnt one receptor for
specific kinds of smells, our sense of smell
works with patter recognition

To evaluate quality (quality
control) or improve quality.
To provide input for decision
making (product development).
To determine the market value
of a product.
To determine shelf--life of a
product.
Ingredient substitution in
product formulation.
To compare a product(s)
with the competitors
product(s).
To determine storage
conditions.

Today's consumers are
discerning, demanding
& more knowledgeable
about food and expect
products which are safe,
good value and of high
sensory quality.
Therefore, knowing
consumers' preferences
and perceptions of the
sensory characteristics
of food products is very
important to food
manufacturers &
retailers alike.
A person's sense of taste, smell,
touch, sound and sight form his
perception of food. In a taste
panel, these senses can be
measured scientifically to obtain
information about particular
aspects of a food.
When conducting a taste panel,
food is uniformly prepared and
presented to panellists in isolated
booths.
Judges record evaluations of the
product on a sensory evaluation
sheet that is decoded and
analyzed by statistical procedures.



Comparison of various samples of Pillsbury
Flour, depending on Wheat Content
To improve sensory quality of a product, or to
ensure inter-batch consistency.
To understand the sensory characteristics of
products, & how they influence customer
selection.
To understand how their product fares with
respect to that of competitors.
To understand how consumers differentiate
between similar products.
Sophisticated sensory booths that conform to
American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) standards (Separate air-conditioning
maintained at 202C and RH 405%)
Glassware/containers for sensory evaluation of
varieties of foods
Specialized software for statistical evaluation of
sensory data
Laboratory for chemical/physical analysis of raw
materials and processed foods

To produce reliable and valid data, the
sensory panel must be treated as a scientific
instrument
It is therefore, necessary that panellists are
free from any psychological features and
physical conditions which might affect
human judgments
Panellists must have an ability to perform
the task and to repeat their judgments
It is necessary that each panellist
must be free from the following
defects:
Taste perception disorders
Odour perception disorders
Colour blindness
Denture defects

It is necessary that each panellist must be
free from the following defects:
Allergies
Use of those medications that effect the
ability to taste.
Prone to minor infections of nose & throat.
All panellists will be assessed for the
following 2 types of discriminative tests:
Difference Tests: Tests to find a difference
between the control and other products.
Sensitivity Tests: To test the ability of
panellists to detect sensory characteristics.

Descriptive tests to be carried out among the
panellists to measure their ability to evaluate
qualitative and quantitative characteristics of
the product
Expectation Error
Stimulus Error
Suggestion Error
Halo Effect
Lack of Motivation
Central Tendency Error
Order Effect

Based of the individual
performance of each
trainee panellist, 5 should
finally be chosen for the
sensory evaluation work
and 2 should be kept as
reserved panellists
Separate sensory teams to
be selected for different
types of products based on
the individual abilities of
the panellists