The sensory evaluation facility consists of a food preparation kitchen/service space connected to an adjacent panelist booth area via pass-through compartment doors for distribution of food samples to taste panel participants. Booths are equipped with touchscreen tablets for presenting questions to and obtaining input from panelists, with data acquisition and processing managed by Compusense® system software. The facility is utilized for both instructional (Sensory Evaluation, Product Development courses) and commercial testing of food products. To view more photos of the product development and other facilities click here.
Featured Facilities
- The panelist area can simultaneously accommodate six panelists within individual booths.
- A big screen monitor is mounted in the food preparation/service area to communicate the panelist sampling plan to panel workers and allow monitoring of individual panelist progress.
- The food preparation/service area is equipped with a commercial range, an industrial fridge freezer, as well as heat lamps and portable temperature/humidity-controlled warming units to facilitate preparation and holding of test products. For more extensive sample preparation needs, an adjacent food production kitchen is also available (refer to Product Development facility for further details).
- Lighting color and intensity within panelist booths is adjustable to mask minor color differences between test samples.
Panelist Booths
Panel Preparation/Serving Area
Lighting Effects
Pass-through Compartment Doors