Sensory training of employees and its advantages

A very impor­tant para­meter for the quality assur­ance of food is the sensory testing of the prod­ucts, since the visual impres­sion, texture, smell as well as taste are deci­sive for the consumer. Sensory testing also plays an impor­tant role in the devel­op­ment of new products.

Sensory analyses are carried out by a sensory testing team (panel). In order to be able to achieve repre­sen­ta­tive results and finally to be able to further develop and improve one’s own prod­ucts, the partic­i­pating persons should be trained regularly.

Sensory training is mostly used in quality assur­ance and product devel­op­ment in the food industry.

Partic­i­pa­tion in sensory training provides impor­tant bene­fits to employees and companies:

  • Improving product quality by refining the formulation
  • Main­taining existing good quality by iden­ti­fying possible off-flavors that may result from storage or infe­rior raw materials
  • Own employees know the prod­ucts better than any external sensory testing panel. Thus, well-trained employees can most effec­tively detect and iden­tify changes in the products
  • Increased sales through improved product quality
  • Estab­lish­ment of an in-house team of experts
  • Creating the condi­tions for product inno­va­tion through an internal team of experts: The internal panel can be quickly commis­sioned at any time and there is no need to resort to external experts
  • Consis­tently high-quality prod­ucts strengthen consumer confi­dence so that they remain loyal to you
Sensory Training Consumers

Sensory Training with Tentamus

Partic­i­pants of the sensory training courses of the Tentamus Group are able to iden­tify the five basic tastes – sour, bitter, salty, sweet and umami – after the training. They also learn about different types of sensory training (e.g. triangle testing, ranking testing). With the help of flavoring solu­tions, off-flavors can also be iden­ti­fied and corrected after evaluation.

After successful partic­i­pa­tion, partic­i­pants receive a certifi­cate of atten­dance for their records.

We offer the following training courses:

1. Basic Sensory Training

Our Tentamus labo­ra­to­ries offer basic training courses in which various sensory tests must be passed. This seminar is aimed at all those inter­ested in the field of food, who would like to learn more about sensory testing, sensory phys­i­ology and build up a basic knowledge.

The basic training consists of a theory part in which the human senses are explained and the link to sensory testing is estab­lished. In addi­tion, the different possi­bil­i­ties of sensory testing methods, such as triangle testing and ranking testing, are explained.

This is followed by the prac­tical part, in which the five basic tastes are first intro­duced and then iden­ti­fied in various solu­tions. Subse­quently, two selected test schemes are provided for tasting. There, for example, the devi­ating sample must be found in a triangle test. After the basic training, the skills of the tasters should be extended by product-specific training and regular training.

Training content:

  1. Basics of sensory training
  2. Insight into the most impor­tant testing methods
  3. Prac­tical exercises: 
    • Iden­ti­fi­ca­tion of the tastes sour, bitter, salty, sweet and umami according to § 64 LFGB L 00.90−10 No. 4.4.4
    • Triangle test of the taste type sweet according to § 64 LFGB L 00.90−10 No. 5.5
    • Ranking test of the flavor sour according to§ 64 LFGB L 00.90−10 No. 5.4
We also offer the basic training courses online. After you have booked your desired online training with us, you will receive the training docu­ments and sets by mail. In it, you will find a corre­sponding access link to the online test and prac­tical exercises.
In addi­tion to the online basic training, in which you are sent the theory part as well as the prac­tical exer­cises and carry out the training inde­pen­dently at home, Tentamus also offers indi­vidual training for groups by a sensory training expert. These train­ings can take place online via video chat or in-house. Please contact us for an indi­vidual training.

2. Sensory Training with Flavoring Solutions

Food prod­ucts consist of many flavors, which are diffi­cult to distin­guish for the layman and often blend into each other. In addi­tion, off-flavors can occur due to incor­rect storage or cont­a­m­i­nated raw mate­rials. With ready-made flavor solu­tions, employees learn to describe the sensory qual­i­ties of the prod­ucts in the company more clearly. Tentamus Group’s flavor special­ists can iden­tify the most impor­tant odor notes or off-flavors of their product through years of expe­ri­ence from over 600 flavor components.

How does the training work?

Our aroma experts prepare solu­tions with aroma compounds that are quite char­ac­ter­istic for a product group. In this way, you learn to develop your own flavor language” with defined compounds – in other words, to describe your own product and put the aromas it contains into words. Above all, this helps to find a common language and avoid misunderstandings.

What is the advan­tage of using flavoring solutions?

Often, food manu­fac­turers only train with their own prod­ucts, i.e., their own foods, etc. There is no objec­tive refer­ence’ of the indi­vidual flavors in the product. This means that the prod­ucts cannot be further devel­oped or sensory training improved. However, this can be done with the help of defined aroma substances – and thus a compar­a­tive value.

Example:

A product tester describes that his coffee smells more like cookie” compared to the competitor’s product – person A now asso­ciates some­thing different with this than person B. Smelling like cookie” can mean different things – in addi­tion to caramel, for example, there are also the notes malty, toasty, vanilla, buttery, etc. However, if the customer takes part in the training with aroma solu­tions, he could find out that the coffee smells caramel-like” (like the refer­ence fura­neol) when eval­u­ating his product.

You are not sure which training you need or have ques­tions about the process?

hello@​tentamus.​com
+49 30 20 60 38 230

Various training sets or sensory training kits can be ordered here:

Information on
certificates and refresher training

Will you receive a certifi­cate for the training?

Upon successful comple­tion of the training, you will receive a certifi­cate of atten­dance from us. For in-house training, our experts can also provide you with an offi­cial certifi­cate of atten­dance for your records.

How often do the train­ings have to be carried out?

To refresh and regu­larly check the skills, appro­priate training should take place 1 – 2 times a year. For the refresher, at least two test schemes are prepared, these can have a corre­sponding degree of diffi­culty depending on the expe­ri­ence of the person to be tested.

Overview of
laboratories offering sensory training

The following labo­ra­to­ries from the Tentamus Group offer sensory training:

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