ABSTRACT
Competition in the food industry grows tremendously as a result of fast changing consumer trends, increased consumer demand for new tastes, increased consumer demand for safe food products and increased consumer awareness of health. Sensory evaluation tests scientifically measure and analyze the consumers’ responses to the sensory attributes of the food products, such as appearance, odor, sound, texture, and taste. Companies invest money, staff, and equipment in new product development. New food products and new processes need to be developed continuously to keep the company competitive in a changing food market. The new food product development process has three major stages: idea development, product development and commercialization. The most common discrimination/difference tests include: paired comparison test, triangle test and duo-trio test. Sensory evaluation tests are grouped into three categories based on the questions that they are addressing: discrimination/difference tests, descriptive tests and consumer acceptance/preference tests.
