Food science graduate students work on food products in the LSU AgCenter Sensory Analysis Center commercial-grade kitchen. The kitchen is stocked with everything a company would need to prepare a product for testing. (Photo by Tobie Blanchard, LSU AgCenter)

A consumer taster samples three different orange juices at the LSU AgCenter new Sensory Analysis Center. Products can be prepared, tasted, tested and evaluated in this new state-of-the-art facility. (Photo by Olivia McClure, LSU AgCenter)

Food science graduate student Kairy Pujols Martinez uses a colorimeter on apples to determine color differences between samples in the LSU AgCenter Sensory Analysis Center. (Photo by Tobie Blanchard, LSU AgCenter)

News Release Distributed 12/22/15

BATON ROUGE, La. – Food products can be prepared, tasted, tested and evaluated in a state-of-the-art facility in the new Sensory Analysis Center on the LSU campus.

AgCenter food sciences professor Witoon Prinyawiwatkul oversees services at the center, which provides consultation, sensory services and education to food and nonfood industries.

“We can help the company determine if products are different, if products are acceptable or which one they would prefer more or like more, which ones they would purchase more often,” Prinyawiwatkul said.

The center is outfitted with a sensory booth that seats 16 consumer testers. The lighting in the room can be adjusted to allow consumers to concentrate on taste. The air in the room is circulated quickly to remove smells.

Three conference rooms allow for panel discussions. One includes a one-way mirror for observations.

Ashley Gutierrez, who manages the food sensory center, said companies that use the center will have access to its two kitchens.

“The first is our commercial kitchen, which is a Department of Health and Hospitals-inspected facility, and we have anything a company would need in order to prepare their product,” Gutierrez said.

The second kitchen is a demonstration kitchen that allows a company to prepare a product in front of an audience to get consumer feedback on food preparation.

The center also has advanced equipment such as a machine called an electronic tongue that acts like a tongue to sense different attributes of a product.

The Sensory Analysis Center is amassing a database of consumer testers they are calling Tiger Tasters.

“We need individuals from around Baton Rouge who are actually consumers so we can get their feedback,” Gutierrez said.

Potential tasters will fill out demographic information and a survey about purchasing habits and likes and dislikes. Companies looking to test products can access the database based on information provided to gather a panel that meets their requirements.

The center is hosting two sensory training sessions in April. One, Sensory Evaluation of Foods: Basic Concepts and Methods, will be held April 5-6. The other, Basic Sensory Discrimination Methods: How to determine if products are different, will be held April 7-8.

For more information about sensory services, becoming a Tiger Taster or the training sessions, visit the center website  or contact  Gutierrez by email.

Tobie Blanchard