Sensory inspection of food quality

1、 The advantages of sensory inspection of food quality

As an effective method for testing food quality, sensory testing can summarize the following three major advantages:

(1) By conducting a comprehensive examination of the sensory characteristics of food, it is possible to promptly and accurately detect any abnormalities in food quality, facilitate early detection of problems, and promptly address them, thereby avoiding harm to human health and life safety.

(2) The method is intuitive and the means are simple, without the need for any instruments, equipment, specialized and fixed inspection sites, and professional personnel.

(3) Sensory testing methods can often detect trace changes in food quality that cannot be detected by other testing methods.

2、 Basic methods for sensory inspection of food quality

The basic method of sensory inspection for food quality essentially relies on visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, and auditory senses to identify the appearance, color, odor, taste, and hardness (consistency) of food. The above methods are always indispensable for sensory quality evaluation of any food, and are often conducted before physical, chemical, and microbiological testing methods.

3、 Notes on sensory inspection methods for food quality

（1） Notes on Visual Inspection Methods

This is an important sensory method for judging food quality. The appearance and color of food are of great significance for evaluating the freshness of food, whether there are any adverse changes in the food, and the maturity of vegetables and fruits. Visual inspection should be conducted under scattered light during daylight to avoid the illusion of light fading. During inspection, attention should be paid to the overall appearance, size, shape, integrity of the block shape, cleanliness, surface gloss, and the depth of color tones. When inspecting liquid food, it should be injected into a colorless glass container and observed through light. The bottle can also be reversed to observe whether there are any impurities sinking or flocculent substances suspended inside.

（2） Notes on olfactory testing methods

The human olfactory organ is quite sensitive, and even instrument analysis methods may not be able to detect very slight changes. However, olfactory testing can detect them. When food undergoes slight spoilage, different odors will be produced. Walnuts have a rancid taste due to the spoilage of their kernels, while watermelons have a rancid taste due to spoilage. The odor of food is formed by some volatile substances, so slight heating is often necessary for olfactory testing. However, it is best to perform it at room temperature of 15-25 ℃, as the volatile substances in food often increase or decrease with temperature. When inspecting food, liquid food can be rubbed on a clean palm to increase the volatilization of odor. When identifying large pieces of food such as animal meat, a sharp knife can be slightly heated and inserted into the deep part. After pulling it out, immediately smell the odor.

The order of food odor testing should be to first identify odors that are light, and then to test odors that are strong to avoid affecting the sensitivity of the sense of smell. Smoking is prohibited before inspection.

（3） Notes on taste testing methods

Taste in sensory testing is a crucial aspect in distinguishing the quality of food.