Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
21 January 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs
Prof Danie Vermeulen, Prof Arno Hugo, and master’s student in Consumer Sciences, Mandisa Masuku in the newly renovated sensory laboratory in the Agricultural Building on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.
Prof Danie Vermeulen, Prof Arno Hugo, and master’s student in Consumer Sciences, Mandisa Masuku in the newly renovated sensory laboratory in the Agricultural Building on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus.
Imagine all food tasting the same …

Fortunately, this is not the case, as consumers like to enjoy what they eat. Tasting food is important because it enables suppliers to adapt food products to consumers’ preferences.

According to Prof Arno Hugo of the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the University of the Free State (UFS), it is important for food companies to make sure that new food products are acceptable to consumers before launching such products. Often, companies also want to confidentially compare and profile their new or even established products against their competitors’ products. Lately, food companies also have the need to adapt European or North American food products for the local consumer (Africanisation of food products). Independent sensory laboratories are needed for such work. 

Dr Carina Bothma, Senior Lecturer and sensory science expert – also from the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology – who manages the sensory laboratory, says the laboratory at the university performs sensory analysis, which is a scientific discipline used to evoke reactions from humans regarding the five senses of sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. These reactions can be captured from first bite to complete mastication and are then statistically analysed and interpreted by a sensory analyst.

With the support of the Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, Prof Danie Vermeulen, a project to the value of R3 million to upgrade the existing sensory laboratory in the Agricultural Building on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, is nearing completion. Minor improvements will be completed by June 2020.

According to Dr Bothma, upgrades were done in three sections, including a training area (with seating for 12 trained panellists); a computerised 12-booth tasting area (with a three-light communication system); and a preparation area. The latter consists of a walk-in fridge and walk-in freezer, a 10-rack industrial steam-jet oven, a ventilation system to control and maintain a negative pressure in the preparation area – so that odours do not move to the tasting area, two mobile units with four gas plates in each unit, and a sputum and control area equipped with a computer.

Prof Hugo, who is mainly responsible for planning trials and statistical analyses of sensory data, says the sensory laboratory is truly a fantastic facility and big asset for the university. “I think it is one of the best-planned and best-equipped sensory laboratories in South Africa.”

Alternative food products profiled

He continues: “Several sensory studies have been done regarding the influence of salt reduction on the meat quality of various meat products, as well as the effect of different feed supplements on meat quality. Meat was also evaluated, comparing the meat quality of animals from different production systems.”

Dr Bothma states that food products to be evaluated vary and may include new products in product development. “Several interesting food products have been tested in the lab so far. Underutilised vegetables such as amaranth and cactus pears, and newly introduced crops such as edamame, have been evaluated.  Ancient grains such as fonio have also been profiled.  An African staple, amagwinya, is currently being profiled, as well as food products containing insect flour,” she says.

Testing and teaching

According to Dr Bothma, a trained panel consisting of 10 to 12 panellists is highly trained to verbally describe a food product or characteristic.  For other tests, consumers of a specific food product to be tested, are sourced. Such a panel can consist of between 75 and 300 persons, depending on the requirements of the client.  Panels can also be compiled according to specific demographics. All demographic information remains anonymous.  

Sensory analysis forms part of academic research projects and a number of PhD and master’s degrees have been done in the laboratory. 

She says: “Postgraduate students work in the sensory lab under supervision of the sensory analyst. They personally recruit panellists on the campus, referred to as 'convenience sampling'. These assistants do the preparation for the tasting, preparing up to 500 individual samples for a test that has 100 panellists and five products.  They attend to the panellists, serve the samples, collect and decode ballot sheets, and enter data into Excel for statistical analysis.”

More than 20 accredited scientific articles have already been published from research done in this laboratory.

News Archive

SA cannot sustain momentum - Boesak
2010-09-02

Photo: Stephen Collett

South Africa finds it increasingly difficult to live up to the challenges facing it as a nation because of its failure to meet its democratic ideals and possibilities, peace and lack of self-belief.

This was according to renowned cleric and former political activist, Dr Allan Boesak, who recently delivered the CR Swart Memorial Lecture, the oldest memorial lecture at the University of the Free State (UFS). His lecture was on the topic Creating moments, sustaining momentum.

He said South Africa had plenty of opportunities to show the whole world what was possible if all the people of this country joined hands and worked together to build a truly united society. However, he said, the country somehow invariably contrived to find its way out of these wonderful possibilities.

He cited events of historical significance like Codesa, the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as the first democratic president of South Africa, the assassination of South African Communist Party leader, Chris Hani; and the rugby and soccer world cups.
To drive his point home about this dismal failure of the country to “sustain momentum”, he alluded to the current public servants’ strike that is gradually crippling public service.

“The public servants’ strike was neither unexpected nor is it completely unjustifiable. Most of us have understanding for the frustration of teachers and health workers. Their demands resonate with most of us, and I think that it is scandalous of SACP fat cats to tell workers to “stop crying like babies,” he said.

He also added to the criticism of the much-maligned decision of the government to spend billions of taxpayers’ money to purchase weapons when there was “no discernible military threat” to the country. He said the greatest threat to the security of the country was poverty, inequality and social cohesion.

“As for the argument that arms sales bring in foreign exchange – how can we be instrumental in killing the poor elsewhere with the intention of feeding our poor, and then our ill-gained profits feed only the already well-fed?” he asked.
“Can we see the hopeless contradiction, the total impossibility of being both the apostle of peace and a merchant of death?”

He also lambasted the Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) policy of the government which he said benefited only those connected to the political aristocracy.

“It couples with the unashamed, in-your-face display of wealth by the privileged elite in this country, the crass materialism of the so-called “bling generation”, and the casual carelessness with which promises to the poor are given and treated. It is only the public symptom of the deep-seated scorn our political elites feel for the poor,” he said.

He said the government’s disdain to the poor was “setting fire to our future”.

“The anger of people on the ground can no longer be denied or ignored, and little by little, the leadership articulating and directing this anger is being estranged from politically elected leadership, and even more disturbing, from our democratic processes,” he said.

He concluded that the country’s difficulty in dealing with race and racism was putting the reconciliation process kick-started by Mandela just over a decade ago, under a threat.
 

 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept