Importance of guidelines and Good Laboratory Practice during sensory testing
T. Kuti, A. Hegyi
Campden & Chorleywood Food Industry Development Institute, Hungary
t.kuti@campdenkht.com, a.hegyi@campdenkht.com
The aim of this presentation is to highlight the importance of good laboratory practice (GLP) during sensory testing. The presentation contains the main factors of GLP with practical exercises and tasks.
Tasting sessions are carried out for several reasons in industry. Quality control, product development and research are the main applications of sensory tests. Results of sensory testing can be very useful for companies as it helps communication and/or decision-making. Therefore is extremely important to conduct valid and reliable tests, in order to provide data on which important decisions can be made.
Laboratories should properly work out a structured framework for sensory analysis to provide high quality information. International standards provide guidelines for the application of sensory tests but these standards can sometimes be too general for industry and their focus is not on special food types or problems. It is worthwhile checking if special industry methods and practices are available, because these can provide useful information for solving problems.
Several factors have an influence on the reliability of sensory test. In order to achieve the test objectives, the following aspects should be considered:
Sensory assessors are our measuring instruments therefore special attention should be paid for the selection and trainings of the panellists.
Sensory assessors – just like a precise instrument - need a controlled environment, which minimizes bias caused by distractions (e.g: noise, strong odours) or inadequate observation conditions (e.g.: lighting).
Procedures for sample handling should also be specified, as inappropriate sample handling or storage may change the sensory properties of samples.
Preparation procedures, materials and equipment should also be strictly controlled to avoid unnecessary sources of variation.
Selecting an appropriate test, sample presentation and the order of tasting products are also essential.
For each testing situation, it is very important to identify the right objectives and choose the right sensory methods, otherwise the results will not be meaningful. It is necessary to keep the above mentioned variables under control to ensure that the differences detected during sensory tests are coming from the products.
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