Sensory analysis of food

Sensory analysis is used to answer questions about product quality, questions relating to discrimination, description or preference. Sensory analysis is a science of measurements.

It is a set of techniques for accurate measurement of human responses to foods and minimizes the potentially biasing effects of brand identity and other information influences on consumer perception.

Since sensory analysis uses human subjects as instruments, it is obviously similar to what the actual human consumers perceive. Sensory analysis became a focus of attention to the US Army Quartermaster Food and Container Institute in the 1940s and though the mid-1950s.

Its focus was research in food acceptance for the armed forces rather than simple provision of adequate nutrition.  In food industry it was developed with increased competition between manufacturers and the increasing variety of products offered to consumers.

The field of sensory evaluation has grown rapidly in the second half of the 20th century, along with the expansion of the processed-food and consumer products industries.

Most of the time, essential analysis will be used in R&D on the analytical side.
Sensory analysis of food

Food tasting

Food is made to be eaten, so tasting is essential of the person are to judge the success of a food product. Taste is detected by the taste buds in the mouth. Different areas of tongue can detect the four basic tastes: sweet, sour bitter and saltiness.

Impaired olfactory receptor cells or blocked nasal passages can cause us to lose ability to distinguish tastes. Food must be moist for taste to occur.

Although all taste receptor cells appear structurally the same, they connect to one of two different nerves associated with tongue.

Tasting food for product development is known as sensory analysis. Sensory analysis is used throughout food product development to make judgments about the quality of food.

The food industry trains people to work on tasting panels. If people are unwell or have a cold, they cannot take part in tasting panels as their sense are not working fully and they may not be able to distinguish between different tastes.

Several factors to be judge when tasting food:
*Appearance and color
*Taste and flavor
*Mouthfeel/texture., consistency
*Smell or odor
Food tasting