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Evaluation of Food Quality

Milk and meat samples preparation and storage  Depending on the analysis, homogenize meat and
milk samples to ensure uniform distribution of
• Proper sample preparation is crucial for accurate and
reliable analysis of meat and milk products. components.

• The general guidelines for preparing food samples for  Use appropriate equipment (e.g., blender, grinder) to
analysis: achieve a consistent sample texture.

 Use sterilized containers to collect representative meat and  Divide homogenized samples into aliquots for different
milk samples being tested. analyses to avoid cross-contamination.

 Ensure samples are collected aseptically to prevent  Store sub-samples in sterile containers at proper
contamination. temperatures to maintain sample integrity.

Quality Evaluation Methods Subjective methods

• Food quality evaluation methods are

Sensory evaluation
essential for assessing the sensory
attributes, nutritional content, safety, and • Sensory evaluation involves assessing the appearance,
aroma, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability of food
the overall quality of food products. products through human sensory perception.

• The methods of food quality evaluation or • Sensory evaluation is measure, analyze, and interpret those
responses to products as perceived through the senses of
analysis generally categorized into two sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing
group namely subjective and objective
• Taste panels is groups of people, taste specific food
samples under controlled conditions.

Sensory characteristics of food

• Subjective methods

 It is based on the opinion of individual evaluators

 It is a traditional way to evaluate food quality

 These methods are subjective because the individual is

required to give his or her opinions regarding the
qualitative and quantitative values of the characteristics
under study.

 They usually involve the various sense organs

and therefore may also be referred to as sensory
methods. Examples are flavor, odor, color, or touch.

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Sensory Attributes of Dairy Products Sensory Attributes of Meat Products

• Appearance: The visual appearance of dairy products like milk • Color: The color of meat is assessed visually to determine
and cheese is assessed for color, consistency, and uniformity. Any freshness and quality. Bright red color indicates fresh beef,
abnormalities in color may indicate spoilage. while dull or brownish may suggest oxidation and spoilage.

• Texture: The texture of dairy products is evaluated for • Texture: Meat texture is evaluated by assessing tenderness,
characteristics such as creaminess, smoothness, and mouthfeel. juiciness, and overall mouthfeel.
For example, yogurt should have a smooth, and creamy texture.
• Odor: The aroma of meat is a key indicator of freshness and
• Odor: Dairy products should have a clean, fresh aroma potential spoilage. Spoiled meats often have off-putting odors
characteristic of the specific product. Off odors like sourness, like ammonia, sulfur, or a sour smell.
rancidity, or fermentation may indicate spoilage.
• Flavor: Meat flavor evaluation involves tasting to assess the
• Taste: The taste of dairy products is evaluated for sweetness,
intensity of desirable meaty flavors, as well as the presence of
acidity, saltiness, and any off-flavors. Proper balance of flavors is
essential for overall sensory appeal. off-flavors associated with spoilage or improper handling.

Importance of Sensory Evaluation Sensory evaluation methods

• Helps food manufacturers assess product quality,

consistency, and consumer acceptance.
1. Descriptive test

• Provides feedback on product formulation, processing

methods, packaging and storage conditions. 2. Affective, acceptance or preference test
• Guides product development efforts to meet
consumer preferences and market demands.
3. Discrimination or difference test
• Supports quality control measures to ensure product
uniformity and compliance with sensory standards.

1. Descriptive Analysis

• It involves trained sensory panelists who evaluate the • Selection and Training of Panelists
sensory attributes of food products using predefined
descriptive attributes  Panelists are carefully selected based on their sensory
acuity, ability to articulate sensory perceptions, and
• They are often external panelists, to identify and willingness to participate in extensive training
quantify specific characteristics such as appearance, sessions.
flavour , aroma, texture and mouthfeel
 Training programs include familiarization with
• Unlike consumer testing, which gathers subjective reference standards, development of sensory
feedback from consumers, descriptive analysis relies vocabulary, and practice sessions to enhance sensory
on trained sensory panels to provide objective and discrimination and consensus among panelists.
detailed descriptions of a product's sensory attributes.

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2. Affective, acceptance or preference tests

• To determine the degree of consumer acceptance • The simplest test are ranking test, where panelists are
and satisfaction regarding to the product given two or more (multiple) samples and asked to
attributes rank them in order of preferences (the most preferred
to least preferred)
• To determine whether a specific consumer group
• It is the most easy way to measure food acceptability
likes or prefers a particular product
• Scaling methods is also used to determine the degree
of liking or disliking to the products
• This is important for development and marketing
of new product • Often the panelists are asked to taste a sample and
score it on a 9 point hedonic scale

Paired test
• Consumers are presented with pairs of products and asked
to choose their preferred option in each pair.

• To determine any difference between two sample in a

specific criterion

• To determine which of the two are more acceptable

(interims of sweetness, sourness, texture)

• This method is simple and effective for comparing two

products at a time.

3. Discrimination or different test

• It is used to compare the difference in the same i, Triangle test

attributes between two samples

• It used to determine which product is preferred  The panalist are presented with three products two are
compare to the second product identical and the other one is different

• A small group of panelists and often conducted  Only three sample allow in one time and the sequence must
be random
using larger panels of untrained panelists
 Mark the sample which is different from the two other
• Types of test for different test: Triangle test and (asked to indicate the odd sample)
Due trio test
 How intense of the difference

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General sensory testing procedures

ii, Due-trio test • Sensory testing is carried out by members of a taste panel,
preferably in individual testing booths under controlled
conditions.

• The tester are given one reference sample and two • All distractions, bias, and adverse psychological factors must
samples be minimized

• The testers is asked to choose the most similar • The noise level must be controlled to avoid distractions,
sample out of the two sample to reference temperature and humidity should be within an acceptable
range, and lighting within the booth must also be monitored
• The reference are allow to label
• There should be no extraneous smells
• To determine is there any significant difference from a
• Color differences may need to be masked
change of ingredients, processing and storage

Objective methods

• The samples are usually placed on a tray • It is based on observations excluding personal
influences of the evaluators’ opinions.
• The tray should contain a ballot that gives specific
instructions • It is based on the recognized standard scientific tests
applied to a sample of product or products
• Water are provided

• Panelists should not have eaten anything immediately prior • The methods are examples of the modern idea of
to carrying out a taste test quality control in which the human element has been
excluded
• In addition, it is important that panelists cannot identify
the products they are tasting • Objective methods are divided into three general
groups namely physical, chemical and microscopy
• The order of testing must be randomized methods

 Physical Methods  Chemical Methods

 These are the quickest methods  The methods are used for quantitative evaluation

 These are require the least amount of training  The methods are used for determination of
nutritive values and qualitative levels
 The methods for quality evaluation of a product
deal with such as size, texture and color or with  Chemical analysis are in general long and tedious
process variables such as headspace, fill weight,
drained weight, vacuum, etc  In many cases these tests can be closely
correlated with the longer procedures and
accurate values determined

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Chemical and Nutritional Analysis

Microscopy Methods Proximate Analysis

• These methods have excellent applications of quality control
programs • Determination of Moisture, Fat, Protein, and Ash
Content
• They require considerable training of the technical personnel to
properly interpret results. • Proximate analysis is a widely used method in food
• They can be divided into two general categories
science for the quantitative determination of major
components in food products.
 Adulteration and Contamination: used to indicate presence of
bacteria, yeast, mold • It involves the separation and measurement of key
nutrients components to assess the nutritional
 Differentiation between Cell Types, Tissue Types, and
Microorganisms of Various Stored Foods. composition and quality of food items.

Nutritional Composition Assessment: Determination of Moisture Content

• Proximate analysis provides valuable information

about the major components present in food • Moisture content represents the amount of water
products, including macronutrients (carbohydrates, present in a food sample, expressed as a
proteins, and fats) percentage of the sample's weight.

• The data obtained from proximate analysis serves as

• Moisture content affects food quality, shelf-life,
a basis for assessing the nutritional value, energy
content, and overall quality of food items.
texture, and stability, making it an important
parameter in food processing and preservation.

Determination of Fat Content

Method • It represents the amount of lipids present in a food sample

• It contributes to the flavor, texture, and mouthfeel of food products

• The most common method for determining moisture
content is the oven-drying method. • It plays a crucial role in nutritional and dietary considerations

• Method
• In this method, a known weight of the sample is dried
in an oven at a specified temperature until a constant  The most common method for determining fat content is the solvent
weight is achieved. extraction method (e.g., Soxhlet extraction method).

 Lipids are extracted from the sample using an organic solvent such as
• The moisture content is calculated as the difference in ether or petroleum ether.
weight before and after drying, divided by the initial
 The extracted fat is then dried, weighed, and expressed as a
weight of the sample, and multiplied by 100. percentage of the sample's weight.

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Determination of Protein Content Determination of Ash Content

Principle • Ash content represents the inorganic mineral content remaining

after complete combustion of organic matter in a food sample.
• Protein content represents the amount of nitrogen present in a food sample, as
proteins contain approximately 16% nitrogen by weight.
• Ash content provides information about the mineral composition,
• Protein is a vital macronutrient responsible for tissue repair, growth, and purity, and adulteration of food products.
metabolic functions in the body.
• Method
Method

• The Kjeldahl method is the most widely used method for determining protein  The ashing method involves incinerating a known weight of the
content in food samples. sample in a muffle furnace at high temperatures (550 - 600°C)
until complete combustion occurs.
• Proteins are digested with concentrated sulfuric acid, converting nitrogen to
ammonium sulfate.
 The residue (ash) left behind after incineration is weighed and
• The ammonium sulfate is then distilled, and the liberated ammonia is titrated expressed as a percentage of the sample's weight.
with a standardized acid solution to calculate the nitrogen content, which is
converted to protein content using a conversion factor.

Microbiological Analysis

• Microbiological analysis is used to evaluate the • Meat and milk

microbial load of food products and detect the
presence of pathogens or spoilage Total Bacterial Count:
microorganisms.
• This test assesses the overall microbial load in raw or
pasteurized milk, including bacteria that can affect
• The methods include total plate count, coliform
product quality and shelf life.
count, yeast and mold count, and pathogen
detection. • The standard plate count determines the total number
of viable aerobic bacteria present in milk, providing
• Microbiological analysis is essential for ensuring insight into hygiene practices and milk quality.
the safety and quality of meat and milk products.

• Coliform count Yeast and Mold

 Testing for coliforms helps assess meat quality and adherence to
safety standards. • Yeast and mold testing in meat and milk products
helps monitor spoilage organisms that can affect
 Coliforms in milk are indicators of sanitation levels during milking product quality, appearance, and safety.
and processing.

 High coliform counts can signal contamination and potential health

risks.

 It indicator of the presence of Escherichia coli including of harmful

strains like E. coli O157:H7, which can cause foodborne illness if
consumed.

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Instrumental Analysis

• Salmonella • Instrumental analysis of meat and milk products

uses advanced equipment to measure specific
 It is crucial for detecting this pathogenic bacterium, which
can pose serious health risks if present in meat products.
physical and chemical properties that can affect
the quality, safety, and nutritional content of
 Regulations often require salmonella testing for meat safety these food products.
and same is true for dairy products
• Techniques include chromatography,
• Staphylococcus aureus
spectrophotometry, and texture analysis.
 Testing in milk is essential, as this bacterium can cause
food poisoning if present in high numbers.

 Strict limits are often set for S. aureus in milk products.

• Gas chromatography Texture analysers

 They are commonly used to analyse the

• They are used to measure the firmness,
composition of fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins,
and other compounds in meat and dairy chewiness, springiness, and other textural
products. properties of meat and dairy products.

 This technique can help determine the nutritional • This analysis can help assess the tenderness,
profile, and quality of these products.
juiciness, and mouthfeel of these products, which
are important factors in consumer acceptance.

Mass spectrometry Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS)

• It is a powerful analytical technique used to • It is used to analyze the composition of meat and
identify and quantify specific compounds in
dairy products in terms of moisture content,
meat and dairy products, such as
contaminants, additives, antibiotics, and protein content, fat content, and other
metabolites. parameters.

• This method can help ensure the safety, and • This rapid analysis method can provide real-time
compliance of these products with regulatory information on product quality and consistency.
standards.

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Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS)

• It is used to detect and quantify trace elements such

as heavy metals in meat and dairy products.

• This method can help ensure the safety and

compliance of these products with maximum residue
Thank you
limits (MRLs) for contaminants. Abebe Bereda (PhD)
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS)

• GC-MS is a widely used technique for analyzing

pesticide residues in food samples.