Sensory Science
Full course description
Sensory science is an interdisciplinary field of inquiry for measuring and understanding human responses to product features and attributes as perceived by the senses, such as sight, smell, taste, touch, and hearing. In this course you explore the physiology of sensory perception, the science behind sensory evaluation methods, and the application of these techniques with a focus on (but not limited to) its applications in food research (new product development, benchmark testing, quality assessment, etcetera). Through a combination of theoretical knowledge and practical applications, you will gain a comprehensive understanding of how sensory science contributes to the development, improvement, and marketing of (food) products.
Course objectives
At the end of this course students are able to:
- Understand the fundamental mechanisms of sensory perception and neural processing that influence how individuals perceive and interpret various sensory stimuli.
- Design and implement sensory evaluation tests used in product research, such as discrimination tests, descriptive analysis, and hedonic testing.
- Select and apply the appropriate sensory evaluation methods to answer specific research questions that can help to develop, improve, or solve problems present in products.
- Critically analyze sensory data using the appropriate statistical methodologies to enable informed decisions in the food industry that improve the products and ultimately results in better consumer experiences.
Recommended reading
- Lawless, H. T., & Heymann, H. (2010). Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices. Springer.
- Meilgaard, M. C., Civille, G. V., & Carr, B. T. (2016). Sensory evaluation techniques. CRC Press.