Manufacturing and Production

Food Product Development and Sensory Evaluation

Most food products that fail did not fail in the laboratory; they failed when a kitchen formulation met a factory that could not make it consistently, or a consumer who did not want it. This course covers the whole route. Delegates work through defining a product brief from a real market opportunity rather than from an idea. Formulation follows, including ingredient functionality and the cost model that decides whether a product can be sold. Bench top development and iteration are covered. Sensory evaluation is treated properly: discrimination tests, descriptive analysis and consumer acceptance testing, with the panel design and statistics each requires, since a tasting by the development team proves nothing. Scale up is addressed, including the process differences that change a product between bench and plant. Shelf life and stability testing follow. Labelling, nutrition and claims are covered. The course closes on launch readiness and on deciding to stop a project.