Food Flavors & Quality

Food Expectations Color – quality factor

• Relates to quality• We expect meat to be red• Bananas to be yellow – not brown!• Naturally occurring pigments affect food

color

Food Expectations Texture – quality factor

• Gum to be chewy• Crackers to be crisp• Refers to qualities felt with fingers, tongue

& teeth• Changes in texture usually due to water

status

Food Expectations Size & shape – quality factor

• Expect foods to have certain sizes & shapes• Easily measured• Fruits & vegetables graded by size & shapes

How Do We Taste? Tongue – taste buds – help perceive

flavor 4 main tastes

• Bitter• Sour• Salty• Sweet

Lifesaver Activity

Sensory Science Part of food science Dedicated to finding ways to help

humans accurately describe the flavors & other sensory properties of food (scent)

Flavor – quality factor People differ in preferences

Measure Taste Best method – use taste panels –

professionals or customers Other evaluation methods used –

chemical & mechanical

Quality Standards Help ensure food quality Types

• Research – setup by company• Trade – setup by members of an industry• Government – some mandatory, some

optional All help to provide common language

for all involved Quality standards by USDA http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/standards

Quality Control Manufacturing plants usually have

some type of internal, formal, quality control • Inspection duties• Lab tests• Oversee sanitation• Guide research & development

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT-5sEDse3E

Classroom Taste Tests Tomorrow we are going to set up

blind taste tests to see if we can taste the difference between brand name & generic foods.

This is similar to how consumers would do a taste test for a company.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7lw_vhxtNc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0TsqVKmjAw