Using sensory evaluation and quality planning for product quality management
21 March 2025 | Sue Purcell, Section Manager - Sensory Training
Food and drink product safety is paramount when it comes to food manufacturing. This should be a given, and the processing of the product is designed to prevent any harmful risk to health. But do food business operators have the same level of focus about the quality of food and drink products? And is it a health risk if there are too few or too many toppings on a cake or a pizza, or in a sandwich? Probably not - but you may get displeased consumers who change their expectation of the product or may not repeat purchase. Consistent product quality should be seen as essential to the business and is important to a customer.
Food and beverage manufacturers constantly encounter challenges to enhance and maintain product quality. These challenges may arise from various sources such as variable raw materials, machinery drifts, personnel interpretation and understanding, temperature control issues, shifting supplier requirements, customer feedback, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), or the implementation of internal Quality Management Systems (QMS).
Overcoming these challenges requires strategic approaches and effective solutions. One way that this can be overcome is by using sensory science and quality planning.
Sensory science can often be overlooked when it comes to managing quality in the factory, but it is a fundamental part of quality management and cost optimisation. Manufacturing products to specification first time and every time can help to reduce cost for the company as well as meeting or exceeding consumers expectations consistently.
Product quality management
As an expert in Campden BRI’s Global Food Safety and Quality team, and from my technical experience in the manufacturing industry, I know that food and drink product quality can be hard to manage. But with the correct tools and activities it can become easier to highlight any issues and correct them using sensory quality management planning.
So how can this be achieved?
Managing quality begins with investigating potential quality failures, what the failure is and the cause of the failure. These are where the challenges occur, but control measures can be used to prevent these. These control measures can be established through tolerance documentation, including specifications or analytical methods (e.g., pH tolerances and Pantone™ references), as well as sensory evaluations (e.g., utilising Quality Attribute Sheets (QAS) and visual process standards) to ensure the product meets organoleptic standards. This information can be captured in a formal, documented format, such as a quality contract, to ensure clarity and consistency.
A quality ‘contract’ or ‘promise’ is documented information on the specific details of the product. This can include raw materials, components, process, packaging and finish product information. It is usually initiated by NPD and then developed further with details critical to the production of a good quality product. Therefore, colleagues from all areas of the manufacturing process can be involved in the development of the quality contract. It is important that the quality contract is created to a high and accurate standard, is communicated and understood.
Finished product quality
It is essential to have an end-to-end quality plan or strategy of managing product quality in the factory. The starting point to begin this product quality journey, is at raw material intake.
The Quality Attribute Sheet (QAS) can be found within a quality contract and the focus is on the finished product attributes. It is essential that this uses accurate and appropriate sensory vocabulary which is easily accessible and understandable by all employees during quality panels for finished product quality monitoring using taste panels. It is important to screen assessors prior to conducting panels, as well as training them on how to effectively use the QAS. Screening is initially conducted to identify if the assessors used on taste panels have a good level of sensory acuity. There are screening (and training) sensory standards that, when applied correctly, can provide confidence in results obtained from taste panels. This would provide evidence that your taste panel assessors have been identified as competent. These activities complement the due diligence required to managing quality (and safety) when complying to GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) standards, such as BRCGS or FSSC for quality monitoring. If assessors are identified to be competent, then training on the products and QASs will follow.
But what about the management of product quality during the production process? Product quality should be managed from start to finish in the factory which begins with a Quality Promise. Each site has a Quality Policy that should reflect the quality commitment everyone, supported by a positive quality culture, should work towards. Having designated Quality Champions on site, from all areas of the business, it will help drive the quality promise. After all, everyone is responsible for quality. It is essential to have an end-to-end quality plan or strategy of managing product quality in the factory. The starting point to begin this product quality journey, is at raw material intake.
During the manufacturing process, there are always points where product quality could fall short. Identifying potential quality failure risk points, documenting current methods for controlling these risk points, and assessing whether these controls are sufficient through monitoring processes, provides strong evidence of due diligence. After all, it is important to document what is working well, as well as identifying areas of improvement to produce better product quality. These changes may involve having new equipment, tighter tolerances, more frequent monitoring, or regular screening of taste panel members. These changes may also be driven by KPIs, internal reviews or customer complaints / feedback.
Your partner for managing product quality
Having confidence in your product quality, stems from trusting a team to check the product properly. Campden BRI can provide consultancy, guidance and training in product quality planning and sensory assessment. Our experts have a vast knowledge of product quality management and industrial experience to help guide you to focus on and improve your product quality.
We would talk and walk you through a step-by-step process that will enable to you to create a strategy of quality planning. This approach would assist you to really focus on and understand the issues that don’t get the focus they need, to justify your quality journey and keep it active. The continuous monitoring of product quality is essential to make sure standards don’t decline and are improved.
About Sue Purcell
Sue has worked at Campden BRI since 2006, and is responsible for both sensory training and our beverage panel.
Her prior work experience spans a wide range of manufacturing sectors, working in the brewing (AME Qualified), confectionery and food ingredients industries with extensive training experience in sensory evaluation. Alongside her IOB Brewing Qualifications (AME), Sue is also certified by the IFST in Sensory Science (both Foundation and Intermediate).
Sue has a vast range of training knowledge, and runs all of the sensory training courses at Chipping Campden. She is also responsible for off-site sensory training and meeting clients' sensory training requirements in addition to auditing facilities for industry sensory compliance.
Sue also manages and trains the Beverage Panel, who specialise in alcoholic beverages and beer profiling.
How can we help you?
If you would like to find out more about applying sensory science to your business, contact our support team to find out how we can help.
Sensory training courses
Our consumer and sensory science courses range from topics such as sensory evaluation and consumer research to sensory science and food quality.
