Product Testing Guideline

Contents

1. Purpose
2. Resources needed
3. Definitions
4. Procedure
5. References

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Product Testing Guideline

1. Purpose
This shall give a clear direction/instructions for NPD testing in KFP (such as microbial testing,
selecting control samples, testing conditions, simulating product storage, handling and shelf
arrangement, etc.)
2. Resources needed
1.1 Computer software: Minitab
1.2 Basic understanding of the following topics:
 Stability studies using Minitab
 Reliability/ survival studies using Minitab
 Logistic regression using Minitab
 Gauge study using Minitab
 Sensory shelf life estimation methods
3. Definitions
3.1 Survival analysis
Survival analysis is a collection of statistical procedures for data analysis for which the
outcome variable of interest is time until an event occurs. In a sensory shelf life (SSL) study,
time to an event would be measured from when the product left the manufacturing plant until
consumers rejected it.
3.2 Censoring data
Time-to-event data present themselves in different ways, creating special problems in
analyzing such data. One feature often present in time-to-event data is censoring, which occurs
when some lifetimes are known to have occurred only within certain intervals. There are three
basic categories of censoring: right-, left-, and interval-censored data.
3.3 Shelf life
It can be defined as a finite length of time after production (in some cases after maturation or
aging) and packaging during which the food product retains a required level of quality under
well-defined storage conditions.
3.4 Failure time
The term failure time, usually used in medicine and engineering, has been increasingly used
instead of shelf life, even in the food sector. In this case, the positive feature of the term shelf
life (which implies that the food is still acceptable) is substituted by the negative one (the food
is no longer acceptable). In other words, the failure time starts when the shelf life ends.
3.5 Stability study
Stability Study is used to analyze a product's stability over time and determine the product's
shelf life. Minitab fits a linear model to represent the relationship between the response
variable, the time variable, and an optional batch factor.
3.6 Affective test
Assess the personal response by potential consumers to a product, a product idea, or specific
product attributes.
3.7 Analytical test
Measure the attributes of a product through quantitative and qualitative measures using highly
trained personnel.
3.8 Consumer testing
Using untrained, unbiased consumers to assess liking or preference of products.

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Product Testing Guideline

4. Procedure
4.1 General guidelines for determining the required tests:
 The following points must be considered when determining the required tests for a
newly developed product; the research and development team will evaluate these
points and decide upon the needed tests at each new product development stage.
 Product intrinsic (pH, water activity, moisture content, nutrient content,
oxidation/reduction potential, and antimicrobial agents if added) and extrinsic
properties (temperature, humidity, and time)
 The changes (development) made to the new product and their anticipated effects on
its chemical composition, microbial quality, sensory properties, and shelf life
 Available scientific literature related to the newly developed product
 The product requirements needed by the national or/and international bodies
 Type and rate of deterioration encountered during the storage of the new product
 Physical deterioration color )fading, moisture changes, and alterations in
sensory properties, including aroma and textural changes(
 Microbial deterioration
 Chemical deterioration
 The availability of testing equipment, taking into consideration its accuracy (bias,
linearity, and stability) and precision (repeatability and reproducibility)
 Could be evaluated using Gauge study using Minitab software.
 Sample size and preparations depend on the statistical design used and the type of
analysis.
4.2 Guidelines for selecting the appropriate sensory evaluation test
4.2.1 The following is the main types of sensory evaluation
 The cardinal rule in sensory is that trained panelists should be used to provide
product descriptions (analytical), and consumers should be used for acceptability
(affective) tests.

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Product Testing Guideline

 The following figure shows common objectives of sensory testing and which test
should be utilized for each objective.

4.2.1.1 Analytical tests :

 Objective sensory tests completed by trained panelists include discrimination
testing and descriptive analysis.
 Measure the attributes of a product through quantitative and qualitative measures
using highly trained personnel.
 Testing procedures and the participants are highly dependent on the test objective.
 Analytical tests involve distinguishing between products and, in some cases, their
attributes.
 Panelists that have been screened for sensory acuity are suited to participate in
discrimination tests.
4.2.1.1.1 Discrimination tests
 In order to have meaningful difference tests, one essential quality is that
samples are identical except for the one attribute under consideration. If not,
ratings will be based on information other than what you are trying to learn.
 The goal of discrimination tests is to establish if there are product or attribute
differences
 Example of discrimination tests: triangle, two out of five, paired comparison,
pair-wise, and difference from control.
4.2.1.1.2 Descriptive test
 Involve both the discrimination and description of the characteristics of
products.
 Such tests typically require fewer panelists and more training.

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Product Testing Guideline

 Common tests include Quantitative Descriptive Analysis® (QDA®), flavor

profiling, and texture profiling.

4.2.1.2 Affective tests:

 Subjective sensory tests that measure acceptability and preference tests. It can be
carried out in various ways, including in-home use, focus groups, and central
location tests.
 Assess the personal response by potential consumers to a product, a product idea,
or specific product attributes.
 Consumers are used for these tests.
 Affective tests of acceptability and preference measure subjective attitudes about a
product.
 All participants should be screened for product usage prior to participation in a
study (i.e., cereal studies should use participants that eat cereal).

4.3 Guidelines for estimating shelf life of the newly developed product
 Estimating shelf life is a guessing game. It can be said is that the stated shelf life stamped
on any product has a strong element of guess in it along with the element of hard data that
food scientists can add. The following points should be taken into consideration:
4.3.1 There are no tests that can absolutely be relied upon to allow one to predict the shelf
life of a given food product.
 All that such tests can do is provide an approximation.
 Experience with similar products in the same product category can help provide
some initial estimates.
 Data in the scientific and technical literature can help refine these initial estimates.
 Audits of similar competitor’s products drawn from the retail showcases will
provide more data to complement one’s findings.
 The complaint records of a company can provide information on a product’s
stability that may be applied to another similar product in development.
 The development team should not waste their time looking for the perfect test.
4.3.2 Shelf life tests should ideally be carried out only on finished products manufactured
on the production line (and equipment) to be used in regular production and packaged
in the container that will be placed on the shelves for consumers.
 The product prepared in test kitchens or pilot plants does not simulate the product
prepared in a plant at the height of the packing season with adjacent packing lines
running products capable of being a source of cross-contamination.
4.3.3 Once the shelf life of a product has been determined, any change in the recipe, in the
suppliers of the ingredients, in the water treatment system in the plant or in the water
used in batch preparation occasioned by plant relocation, or any other change can
have a major impact on the acceptable quality shelf life of a food product.
 For example, the mineral content of plant waters can have a profound effect on the
flavor of a product, not only immediately but over a period of time.
4.3.4 The customer, the consumer, or even the retailer is the ultimate determinant of a
product’s shelf life; they reject it at the point of purchase or display.
 Nevertheless, in basing shelf life on sensory analysis by these judges—perhaps on
odor or taste—their ability to recognize spoilage by their senses varies considerably.
 The use of taste panelists in determining shelf life poses health hazards for the
panelists and does not produce reliable estimates of shelf life.

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Product Testing Guideline

 A clear understanding of the criteria used to assess the end of acceptable (or even
high quality) shelf-life must be established.
 Determining the shelf life of products involves measuring the differences between
control and test samples subjected to some stress over time.
4.3.5 Selecting conditions for testing shelf life
 Three general approaches are used to determine shelf life:
(1) Static tests, in which the product is stored for a given period of time under a
given set of environmental conditions selected as most representative of the
conditions to which the product will be subjected
(2) Accelerated tests, in which the product is stored under a range of some
environmental variables (for example, temperature)
(3) Use/abuse tests, in which the product is cycled through some environmental
variables
4.3.6 Statistical analysis of shelf life
 When does a product fail as a result of going beyond its shelf life? There are two
main criteria for food product failure:
(4) a cutoff point on a critical descriptive attribute (e.g., microbial growth) or
 In this case the data is continuous, and a stability study using Minitab could
be used
(5) consumer data/sensory analysis when the product is rejected as unacceptable.
 In this case the data is binary. The following tests could be used using
Minitab software:
 Logistic regression
 Reliability/survival analysis

5. References
 Aramouni, F., & Deschenes, K. (2014). Methods for Developing New Food Products: An
Instructional Guide. DEStech Publications, Inc.
 Bower, J. A. (2013). Statistical Methods for Food Science: Introductory Procedures for the
Food Practitioner (2nd ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
 Fuller, G. W. (2016). New Food Product Development: From Concept to Marketplace, Third
Edition (3rd ed.). CRC Press.
 Garitta, L., Langohr, K., Elizagoyen, E., Gugole Ottaviano, F., Gómez, G., & Hough, G. (2018).
Survival analysis model to estimate sensory shelf life with temperature and illumination as
accelerating factors. Food Quality and Preference, 68, 371–376.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodqual.2018.03.014
 HOUGH, G., & GARITTA, L. (2012). METHODOLOGY FOR SENSORY SHELF-LIFE ESTIMATION: A
REVIEW. Journal of Sensory Studies, 27(3), 137–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-
459x.2012.00383.x
 Nelson, M. (2020). Statistics in Nutrition and Dietetics (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.