In its September issue, ASQ’s Quality Progress addresses the importance of Quality in business culture. The article references a white paper published by Forbes Insights: Culture of Quality: Accelerating Growth and Performance in the Enterprise. The Forbes study, conducted in partnership with ASQ, reveals that world-class organisations successfully integrate quality into their business strategy to…
Nuance Winery Supplies contracted the services of Sirocco Food & Wine Consulting to conduct sensory evaluation on wine adjusted with enological tannins (Vason Enologica). A fruit-forward low astringency Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon was used as the wine base and control for the study. Three finishing tannin kits were selected for tannin supplementation. The tannin-enhanced wines were…
For food and beverage manufacturers, the decision to establish a sensory analysis program in the context of QA/QC activities depends upon business objectives and customer requirements. A successful implementation of a sensory analysis program fits the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle or Deming wheel. Another model on which to qualify the need for a sensory analysis program…
Food and beverage manufacturers are increasingly recognising the value of Quality Management Systems (QMS) as a way to meet customer requirements and remain competitive. Companies who are thinking of going the QMS route have to define product quality and establish sensory specifications. While quality products may be defined as “free of taint” and “wholesome” during…
Food safety specialists working in industry know that developing and maintaining a HACCP-based food safety program requires a significant amount of administrative paperwork. With pressures to go paperless coupled with increasing regulatory and industry requirements, more and more food businesses are turning to computer solutions to manage food safety and automate document control. Advances in…
With the globalisation of trade, providing guarantees that your food product is safe is now an important part of business transactions. In recent years, governments and industry have been aligning their food safety requirements. While governments in the US and Canada are mandating written Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)-based preventive control plans to…
Food traceability regulations in North America are being implemented as a result of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in the US and Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) in Canada. Facing pressure to meet regulatory compliance and private food safety standards, food and beverage companies are being forced to review their food safety preparedness…
Upcoming Sensory Evaluation Course for Winemakers Starting May 29, I will be co-teaching a new sensory course at Okanagan College in Penticton. “Sensory Evaluation in Winemaking” will be held in the new food sensory laboratory of Okanagan College, Penticton campus. The 12-hour workshop will focus on the application of sensory evaluation tools for quality control…
In a previous post, I mentioned that Descriptive Analysis (DA) is one of several sensory evaluation methods which is gaining popularity in the global food and wine industry. The need to profile food and wine products reliably derives from a need to meet consumer preferences. It can also be a tool used to reach regulatory…
Rooted in product manufacturing, the field of sensory evaluation has grown rapidly in the last decades. One of the reasons for this is that both the food and beverage industries have shifted from a production-oriented business model to a market-driven one in which discerning consumers define product quality. In order to differentiate themselves in a…