Abstract:

Due to the growing competition in the food market, manufacturers face questions related to the problem of increasing the attractiveness of their product primarily through the sensory properties: its appearance, taste, texture, smell.

To develop sensory characteristics, to design food products with specified sensory indicators, and to monitor sensory quality in the food industry, specialists with sensory sensitivity and extensive knowledge in the field of sensory evaluation are needed.

Currently, in the Russian Federation, the training of specialists in this field is limited. It is mainly conducted through advanced training courses, but only applies to certain groups of food products produced by particular enterprises.

The Moscow State University of Food Production (MSUFP) offers a bachelor's degree course "Introduction to sensory evaluation of food products". However, this is clearly not enough for food industry specialists.

In order to identify the needs of specialists in sensory evaluation, two questionnaires were developed. The main aim of the first questionnaire was to identify the opinions of representatives of the food industry about the need for sensory quality control in their enterprise. The other questionnaire was designed to identify the necessary knowledge and skills for future specialists in the field of sensory evaluation.

Representatives of 27 large and medium-sized food enterprises in Russia took part in the questionnaire. The analysis of the questionnaires showed an insistent of training specialists in this field.

MSUFP has developed training programs for the courses "Sensory evaluation of food products", "Sensory control system in the food industry", "Customer-oriented design of food products". They will provide students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills in conducting sensory control of raw materials and finished products. The programs cover the questions of the physiology of the sensory organs, the methodology for selecting testers based on their sensory sensitivity and the formation of touch panels for conducting sensory evaluation, the methods of conducting sensory tests and the methodology of research: the rules for providing samples for analysis, the rules for coding samples and the rules for statistical processing of the obtained results. A separate section examines the issues of descriptive methods of sensory evaluation as the basis for sensory control of finished products and the design of food products with specified properties. The practical and theoretical parts of the courses are developed on the basis of international ISO standards in the field of sensory evaluation.

The second questionnaire of representatives of the food business showed that they approve the content and practical significance of the developed courses.

Keywords:

Sensory evaluation, food industry, quality control, training programs, bachelor's degree.