Sensory quality index (SQI) for commercial food products

The level of potential deterioration in sensory qualities during distribution of processed commercial food products was measured. A method to set up a distribution sensory quality hurdle was suggested to determine the level of deterioration of sensory quality according to consumer responses. The sensory quality index (SQI), which is the ratio of the overall acceptability of a product at the end of its shelf life to that at the beginning of its shelf life, showed a strong positive correlation with consumer preference (%) across a broad range of products. The complexity caused by the “no preference” option in the preference test was decreased by using the SQI because it allows equal scores when comparing samples in acceptability tests. Also, a strong positive correlation between the SQI and the difference of acceptability scores from the beginning to the end of the shelf life support the reliability of the SQI, which is a ratio estimated by dividing the measured scores with an interval scale.

► Sensory quality index (SQI) showed a strong positive correlation with consumer preference (%) across a broad range of products.
► A sensory quality hurdle for distribution process was suggested with a specified SQI.
► Ratio of an interval scale data, SQI, showed a strong positive correlation with the difference of the interval scale data.