Summary
- Profile Type
- Technology offer
- POD Reference
- TOES20240315010
- Term of Validity
- 15 March 2024 - 15 March 2026
- Company's Country
- Spain
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
- Targeted Countries
- All countries
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General information
- Short Summary
- A Spanish technology centers offers sensory evaluation of bakery products.
- Full Description
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The Spanish technology center, founded in 1998, is focusing in agrifood sector, in special, in research and analysis of cereals.
Sensory methods are a comprehensive and crucial tool that should be used in the product characterization and innovation process. The sensory evaluation of bakery products using a tasting panel allows for the identification of defects that may not be quantifiable through other means.
In the quality control of food products, such as in the case of cookies, sensory assessment and characterization are required to complement the technical information on the overall characteristics of various products.
There are no fast and inexpensive instrumental methods that provide the same olfactory gustatory information as sensory analysis and its various techniques. The perception of defects and unusual odors is challenging to determine through classical analytical methods that are both fast and cost-effective. Sensorial analysis allows for the quick and cost-effective identification and quantification of these characteristics when a trained tasting panel is available for such products.
Although microbiological, nutritional, and physicochemical properties are accepted as essential in the quality control of products, there is a growing concern, demand and need for the sensory evaluation of products. Some human perceptions, such as smell, are much more sensitive than those of analytical measuring instruments.
Cookies are food products primarily made from a mixture of flour, edible fats, and water, with or without added sugars and other food or food-related products. The mixture undergoes a kneading process and subsequent heat treatment, resulting in a product with a wide range of presentations.
The bakery products will be transported and dispensed always properly packaged, wrapped, and labeled. They will be sold to the public in their intact packaging, making shelf-life analyses with sensory considerations of significant value.
Sensory analysis is a technique in demand due to the quick and reliable results it provides regarding the perception of attributes in agri-food products. These are specific techniques developed to identify the distinctive characteristics of the product and how they are perceived through the senses. Additionally, it allows for the identification of olfactory and gustatory defects that would otherwise be more challenging and less prompt to identify. Cookies may have detectable defects through sensory techniques and trained tasting panels such as excess moisture and loss of texture, bitter taste due to excessive toasting, rancidity of fats, etc.
A trained tasting panel is a fundamental tool for analyzing bakery products, and among its many functions, it can serve to:
- Detect alterations (atypical flavors or odors), preventing rejection by customers and the economic loss that it would entail for the company.
- Sensory results provide useful and detailed information, complementing the technical specifications of the products.
- Allows the detection of changes throughout the shelf life, defining until when the product is organoleptically suitable.
Enhancing our senses also means increasing our knowledge possibilities. Texture, perception of the distinct smell, unusual odors, sweet taste, etc., are important evaluations to define the quality of a flour.
The technology center is opened to commercial agreement with technical assistance and/or research and development cooperation agreement with companies working in food field. - Advantages and Innovations
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This Spanish technological center has an accredited laboratory (UNE-EN ISO/IEC 17025) for the performance of physicochemical and microbiological analysis of food. This laboratory conducts a high number of analytical tests, and the availability of samples allows for continuous training of the tasting panel. A tasting sheet has been developed to identify and quantify attributes related to the quality of flours. The tasting sheet used by the tasting panel in the quantitative description of sensory attributes has been created based on the experience and ongoing training of its members.
A proper sensory evaluation provides real information about the product's perception when it reaches the end consumer. Research projects, shelf-life studies, new biscuit products, cookies made with new ingredients, should undergo a comprehensive sensory analysis that characterizes the products globally.
The technology center has been working on characterizing and evaluating bakery products for 25 years. Sensory analysis is a fundamental pillar that has been applied since the center's foundation. The working team consists of a tasting panel trained in bakery products, acting as an instrumental, repetitive, and reliable measurement team due to their consistency in product evaluation and extensive experience in interpreting results.
This scientific technique uses trained tasters as measuring instruments, employing various techniques and tests that highlight the overall analytical capacity of the group. Once the panel is properly trained (with repeatability and reproducibility), it becomes a very useful and reliable instrument in validating quality. It consists of a group of highly trained individuals (judges) in the evaluation of cookies. Training a tasting panel is a slow process and requires a high level of specialization in the senses. - Stage of Development
- Available for demonstration
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being
- Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- IPR status
- No IPR applied
Partner Sought
- Expected Role of a Partner
- It is estimated that this technology will be of importance for Agrofood and Food companies, working in cereal-based products, such us flours, breads, pastry, cookies, etc. It is not only aimed at human food companies but is also useful in the manufacture of animal feed, among others.
- Type and Size of Partner
- SME 11-49
- SME 50 - 249
- R&D Institution
- University
- Big company
- SME <=10
- Other
- Type of partnership
- Commercial agreement with technical assistance
- Research and development cooperation agreement
Dissemination
- Technology keywords
- 08002002 - Food Microbiology / Toxicology / Quality Control
- 08003 - Micro- and Nanotechnology related to agrofood
- 08001005 - Food Technology
- 08002001 - Detection and Analysis methods
- Market keywords
- 05009004 - Plant health
- 05008002 - Food and feed ingredients
- 09005 - Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, Animal Husbandry & Related Products
- 05009001 - Food & feed ingredients
- Sector Groups Involved
- Agri-Food
- Targeted countries
- All countries