Sensory Research at Marketing Sciences, as featured on BBC Watchdog Test House

Summary

This video takes a deep dive into the world of super tasters, individuals with exceptional taste sensitivities who play a crucial role in the food industry. It highlights their role in helping food manufacturers reduce salt, sugar, and fat while preserving flavor. The super tasters test various products, such as tomato soups, to identify subtle flavor differences and create precise taste profiles. Their contributions help streamline product development and ensure the success of new recipes. The video also showcases the challenges of being a super taster in daily life, where their heightened senses make social dining experiences unique.

Takeaways

• 😀 The food industry faces constant pressure to reduce salt, sugar, and fat in food and beverages without sacrificing flavor.
• 😀 Marketing Sciences sensory unit is designed to help food manufacturers reformulate recipes while maintaining the original taste.
• 😀 The sensory unit uses 'super tasters' — individuals with highly sensitive taste buds who can identify minute differences in flavors.
• 😀 Super tasters are capable of scoring taste qualities like sweetness, bitterness, saltiness, and texture on a precise numerical scale.
• 😀 Susan Woodland is one of the super tasters who discovered her abilities 15 years ago, becoming a key member of the sensory panel.
• 😀 Super tasters help manufacturers test new recipes, such as tomato soups, by identifying which modifications most closely match the original taste.
• 😀 Sensory testing is conducted in controlled environments, ensuring consistency in temperature, serving size, and equipment used to eliminate bias.
• 😀 Super tasters are not influenced by personal preference but focus on objectively breaking down and scoring various taste attributes.
• 😀 Computer analysis can assist in identifying specific flavor profiles, but human tasters provide a more accurate understanding of product quality.
• 😀 Consumer testing complements the super taster analysis, helping manufacturers determine which product will appeal most to the public and succeed in the market.

Q & A

What is the role of super tasters in the food industry?

Super tasters have an extraordinary sensitivity to taste, allowing them to precisely analyze and identify different flavors in food products. Their role is crucial in helping food manufacturers modify recipes, such as reducing salt, sugar, or fat, without compromising on flavor.

How do super tasters analyze food products?

Super tasters assess food products by scoring aspects like bitterness, saltiness, and texture on a scale of 1 to 100. This provides a numeric blueprint of the product's flavor, which helps manufacturers understand how to adjust their recipes to match the desired taste profile.

What makes super tasters different from regular tasters?

Super tasters have highly sensitive palates that allow them to detect flavors with greater precision than 90% of the population. They can identify subtle differences in intensity across flavors, which most people might not even notice.

Why do manufacturers rely on super tasters for recipe modifications?

Manufacturers rely on super tasters to maintain the original flavor while altering recipes, such as reducing unhealthy ingredients like salt, sugar, or fat. Super tasters' ability to detect slight variations in taste helps ensure the modified product still meets consumer expectations.

What is the purpose of sensory testing equipment in the Marketing Sciences unit?

The sensory testing equipment in the Marketing Sciences unit is designed to objectively evaluate food products without any distractions. This setup ensures that the super tasters can focus solely on analyzing the flavors and textures of the products being tested.

How does the sensory testing environment ensure accurate results?

The testing environment is carefully controlled, with factors such as air quality and temperature managed to eliminate any external influences on the tasting process. This helps ensure that the super tasters' evaluations are consistent and unbiased.

What happens after the super tasters analyze the soups in a test?

After the super tasters evaluate the soups, the manufacturers use the numeric data to identify which new recipe most closely matches the original product's flavor. This helps them decide which recipe to develop further for production.

How does consumer testing complement the work of super tasters?

While super tasters provide precise flavor analysis, consumer testing is essential to determine which products will be popular in the market. By assessing consumer preferences, manufacturers can refine their product offerings to suit different taste preferences.

What type of information do consumers provide during testing?

Consumers provide feedback on various aspects of the product, including appearance, aroma, and taste. Their responses help manufacturers understand which attributes are most appealing, such as thickness, creaminess, or spiciness, and which products are more likely to succeed in the market.

What challenges do super tasters face in their daily lives because of their heightened taste sensitivity?

Super tasters may find it difficult to switch off their heightened taste sensitivity in social situations, such as dining out or visiting friends. Their acute awareness of flavors can make it challenging to enjoy meals without analyzing the taste in detail.