FOOD QUALITY-OBJECTIVES

Quality is rated consciously or sub consciously by all. Customers expect products that are safe, of good value, & of high sensory quality. Food chosen on the basis of quality & likes & dislikes. Satisfaction, for having paid the correct competitive price for similar quality. Consumers look for food that is attractive in terms of color, flavor, & texture, apart from other psychological & social factors which they may associate with food. Quality is the ultimate criterion of desirability of any food product ---for which the customer is willing to pay more in proportion to its presence & less because of its absence. .

OBJECTIVES

Quality monitoring is imperative in present times. Universally accepted-----enables to realize appropriate price both for the producer & seller. Attractiveness of food is clearly a quality. When the mfgrs. & mfgrg. personnel know about various quality control requirements, final product of desired quality is obtained. Any product released for marketing must conform with the statutory standards. Reproducibility is equally important. Nutritional quality, shelf life & cost factor are other criteria which may affect their selection. Knowing consumers preferences & perceptions of sensory characteristics of food & beverage is vital to food mfgrs & caterers. Without appropriate evaluation, there is high risk of market failure.

IMPORTANCE OF EVALUATION TO FOOD INDUSTRY

Helps in developing new products & maintaining quality in existing products. How a consumer reacts to a particular food dictates the quality to be produced. Changes in menus to make food acceptable can be identified. Assists in determining shelf life of the product. Helps understand how our product performs against competitors products. Helps to determine whether or not consumers can detect differences between products due to recipe modification.

METHODS

Easier to recognize quality than to define it. Quality is some sort of mental summation of physical & chemical properties of food, involving many sensory factors. However, their relation to palatability is not known ---hence be supplemented with chemical & physical tests. SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION Carried out by a panel of individuals using a scoring system, based on various characteristics that can be judged using human senses. Also called as- sensory, organoleptic, or psychometric evaluation. Distinctions among food-either differences or preferences obtained by senses. Difference testing is used to test the sensitivity of judges & to determine whether inexpensive ingredient could replace expensive ingredient in the recipe. The type of information that is required should be clear as this determines the type of test that needs to be conducted.

METHODSENVIRONMENT FOR CONDUCTING SENSORY TESTS Separate sensory booths to be provided so that judges do not interact with each other, except when preparing profiles. Controlled air & lighting, comfortable temperature, non-smoking zone, provision of small sinks for spitting out samples or rinsing mouth to be observed. SAMPLE PREPARATION & PRESENTATION PROCESS Samples should be of identical size, shape or portions. Samples to be served at the customary serving temperatures. Sample plates should be marked with wax pencils.

Useful in developing new foods & evaluating quality. Provide information on selected characteristics & indicate preference or acceptability of product. Acceptance preference test Using single or two samples, it is found out whether a product will be used by consumers & it also shows their preference for the sample being tested. One sample is used if a new product is introduced. Two samples are offered if a food is modified. Hedonic scale relating to pleasant & unpleasant states is used & ratings of preference or liking or disliking are measured. Verbal hedonic scale consists of 9 point scale with phrases from dislike extremely to like extremely. Facial hedonic scale consists 5,7,or 9 faces depicting various degrees of pleasure & displeasure. Disadvantage Hedonic scale indicates likes & dislikes for specific characteristics of food but not the change in intensity of those characteristics.

. PREFERENCE TESTS-

PREFERENCE TESTSFACT [Food action] rating scale More sensitive method Made up of 9 point food action rating scale. Codes used clearly indicate the action the panelist would take regarding the food being tested-say how often he/she will eat the food, & also indicates that it was never tried. Two types of preference frequency scales are used- one uses verbal categories & the other one uses- quantitative categories. These tests should supplement the hedonic scale.

2. DIFFERENCE TESTING

Determines whether the difference in two or more products can be detected. Results are more precise & reproducible. A] DISCRIMINATION TESTS1] PAIRED COMPARISON From the two samples presented together, the difference in s specific characteristic is judged & sample with greater level of characteristic being measured is identified, e.g. sweeter piece of cake & a standard cake. 50% chances of being right. 2] DUO TRIO TEST From 2 control samples & one variable sample, one control sample is presented first, followed by two other samples & asked to identify which of the 2 samples is different from the control. Chance of guessing correctly is 50%,

DISCRIMINATION TESTS3] TRIANGLE TEST 3 samples [2similar + 1 different] are given together to identify the odd one, indicating its distinguishing features. Chances of guessing correctly are just 33%. Sample presentation order- control, control, variable/control, variable, control/variable, control, variable/ variable, variable, control . 4] DILUTION TEST Quality of substituted ingredients [e.g. egg powder for fresh egg] is measured by presenting standard sample, followed by other samples which may or may not contain the unknown at a definite level of dilution. Poor quality product gets detected at lower dilution.

DISCRIMINATION TESTS5] TASTE THRESHOLD TEST It determines the lowest concentration of a substance that can be detected. Also indicates the lowest concentration of a substance required to be able to identify it. 6] RANK ORDER A series of samples are ranked in increasing or decreasing order of intensity for a specific characteristic e.g. in a product like pineapple souffl for pineapple flavor. Does not measure the degree of difference. Numerical values may be given to ranks; highest value indicates the best product

B ] DESCRIPTIVE TESTS Describe

sensory attributes in exact words, evaluator is asked to select the exact description from the score card that matches with the sample. Superior to preference tests as these detect deviations between the samples. Score card needs to be designed carefully describing each characteristic over a range. 1] PROFILING Panel sits together & formulates a very detailed word description, generally of flavor, which is a standard for evaluating further products.

2] SCORE CARDS

Food samples are individually evaluated using score cards, having a series of descriptive terms or levels of characteristics. Numerical values or scores are assigned to each descriptive term, e.g. 1 to 6 for extremely dry to extremely juicy texture. Evaluators to think of appropriate descriptive adjective & take decision but not to decide on the basis of score. It is preferable not to mention numerical scores on the score card given to them. Score cards need to be designed for all recipes . All products to be evaluated should be given codes in the form of geometric shapes, colors, or randomly selected 3 digit numbers. Avoid codes viz. 123 or ABC-which suggest first choice. Standard specifications for a standard high quality product should be described.

OBJECTIVE METHODS

Supplement the data obtained through sensory evaluation to overcome human error, sensory tests rely on panelists who may give highly variable results sometimes. Personal health related problems or emotional upsets may have major influence on their evaluation ability. Does not depend on human senses, More reliable , less subject to error. Results agree with sensory evaluation-if chosen appropriately. Requires well maintained accurate testing devices.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
Includes compositional analysis for establishing identity & quality as well as conformity to the prescribed standards. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS/ proximate analysis Gives nutritional & biochemical information. Nutrient analysis helps to mention the nutritive value per serving on the label. For most foods analytical data is available, Energy value of a food can be calculated easily. Moisture affects stability of foods, making them susceptible for mould growth, infestation, protein degradation & sprouting, Ash is indicative of the mineral matter, Acidity, Crude fibers are useful in determining the amount of shell in cocoa, hard woody stalk in tea, chilies , & the amount of bran in ground cereals. Proteins are determined by multiplying a factor 6.25 to the organic nitrogen as protein contains 16% Nitrogen. Fat is measured by extracting it in ether, using the soxhlet extraction method. Sugar concentration is measured using refractometer as degree brix. Saltiness can be analyzed by flame photometry to measure sodium content. ULTIMATE ANALYSIS It means determination of a particular element or a compound.

ADDITIVES, CONTAMINANTS & MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY

Checks safety. Additives determined using different tests as per nature of the products. Tests to determine purity & adulterants carried out separately. For testing contaminants chemical & instrumental tests available. MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS Important for quality assurance, food safety as well as conformity to prescribed standards. Some of the methods used Direct microscopic count Aerobic plate count of number of colonies of mesophilic aerobes per gram of sample, Coliform count as. E. coli is the best indicator of faecal organism, Salmonella sp selected colonies are examined for their biochemical & serological characteristics, Bacillus cereus blue colored colonies are examined, Staphylococcus aureus black colonies with light colored margin & an outer clear zone are observed, Clostridium botulinum & perfringens in anaerobic atmosphere, Listeria monocytogenes for black colonies surrounded by black zone, & for sparkling blue colonies.

Physical examination
Indicates the presence of extraneous organic & inorganic matter, weevil grains, moldy & discolored units, along with moisture & volatile matter Extraneous matter affects both sanitary quality & safety, In case of water-soluble foods simple dissolution & filtration test is used. In other cases proteins & starch are digested to enable separation of filth that is floated using organic solvents. TESTS FOR VOLUME SEED DISPLACEMENT TEST Test is conducted for volume of firm food products after the baked products viz. cakes & bread are 24 hours old, using volumeter. INDEX TO VOLUME Indirect means of comparing volume, Slice is taken from exactly the same portion on each sample. Detailed outline is traced by a pointed pencil or by making an inkblot or a photocopy of the slice. Planimeter then used to trace the enter outline of a sample making sure that all indentations and protrusions are recorded. Final measurement on the planimeter represents the exact circumference of the slice.

SPECIFIC GRAVITY TEST

This

indicates the amount of air incorporated into products for comparing the lightness of products physically unsuited to volume measurements. Measure of the relative density of a food sample in relation to that of water. Measured by weighing a given volume of the sample and then dividing that weight by the same volume of water. Low specific gravity and density indicates larger amount of air incorporation and is associated with good volume of the product.

TESTS FOR MOISTURE

PRESS FLUIDS Juiciness of foods measured Measured by succulometer, a machine that applies pressure. Amount of pressure applied and length of time applied for is measured. Sample weighed both before and after pressure has been applied. Greater the weight loss, greater is the juiciness of the sample. WETTABILITY It is the ability of a food to absorb moisture during a controlled period of time (5 seconds). High moisture retention means good wettability. DRYING OVEN Food is gradually dried in an oven till its weight is constant. Moisture content [%]= initial weight dried weight x 100 Initial weight

TEXTURE
Objective methods should reflect the action of the mouth in ingesting food, action of tongue and jaw in moving food, action of teeth in cutting, tearing shearing, grinding, and squeezing food. PENETROMETER Measures tenderness of some foods, e.g., meat. heavy cone action simulates the biting action of the teeth. Force required to shear sample determines the texture. Tenderness of gels and baked products may also be measured TENSILE STRENGTH force required to pull apart the meat sample, when fibers are parallel to the force gives the strength of the muscle fiber. PUNCTURE TESTING Firmness of fruits and vegetable tissues measured by the amount of force required to penetrate a sample to a specific depth.

TEXTURE
SHORTOMETER Baked product placed across two horizontal bars. A single horizontal bar is brought down until it breaks the same and the force is recorded. Values highly correlated with sensory values for tenderness. COMPRESSIMETER Firmness or softness of a cooked product measured by the force required to compress a food sample to a predetermined amount. Greater the force, firmer is the product. SHEAR PRESS Measures the force required to cut through a baked product, Compressibility ,extrusion, and textural characteristics of fruits and vegetables also measured. PERCENT SAG Measures tenderness of a gel. Greater the percent sag, more tender is the gel. Percent sag = depth in container depth on plate x 100 Depth in container

VISCOSITY
LINE SPREAD TEST Foods such as white sauce, starch puddings, and batters are is allowed to spread for 30 seconds to 2 minutes from a cylinder. Consistency is measured in distance (centimeter) spread. AMYLOGRAPH Used for determining viscosity of starch pastes at controlled, selective temperatures. FARINOGRAPH Determines consistency of dough, & predicts quality of the final product. VISCOMETER Measures viscosity of liquids that flow. JELMETER Measures adequacy of the pectin content of fruit juices

APPEARANCE
PHOTOGRAPH These furnish a record of size if scales are included in the picture. Grain of baked product is visible if lighting is carefully controlled. PHOTOCOPY This furnishes the actual size and shape of a sliced or half baked product, & also indicates grain. Sliced samples are arranged on a clear plastic. INK PRINT METHOD Refer to the Index to Volume method. TEST FOR COLOUR Color of the food sample is tested against a color sample to match. Spectrophotometer and the Hunter color difference meter is commonly used to identify food colors TEST OF CELL STRUCTURE Cell structure of baked products can be measured by making photocopies of cross sectional slices to reveal uniformity, size, and thickness of cell walls three dimensionally.