Quality Matters Quality control and quality assurance are critical for the sustained growth and success of any company. The goal is to ensure that product quality and characteristics meet consumer expectations. These characteristics are developed using food specifications that accurately describe products in quantifiable sensory terms. A trained panel should be utilized to develop a profile that lists all the attributes of a product and their intensity levels, followed by the development of a management-supported training program that can be executed easily and successfully. Whether this training program encompasses a full descriptive panel or various discrimination tests, it is mandatory for anyone involved in the product testing phase to be screened for their tasting acuities and trained to follow the correct methodology. Development of a consensus vocabulary and an understanding of how to use the established scale to determine intensities are critical. Once trained, a descriptive panel is like a fine instrument that requires regular calibration. |