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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

Twenty years of the constitution of South Africa – cause for celebration and reflection
2016-05-11

Description: Judge Azar Cachalia Tags: Judge Azar Cachalia

Judge Azar Cachalia

The University of the Free State’s Centre for Human Rights and the Faculty of Law held the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the adoption of the South African Constitution on 11 May 2016 on the Bloemfontein Campus.  Students and faculty members celebrated and reflected on not only the achievements of the constitution but also on perspectives regarding its relevance in modern society, and to what extent it has upheld the human rights of all citizens of South Africa.

The panel discussion started with a presentation on the pre-1996 perspective by Judge Azar Cachalia of the Supreme Court of Appeal.  Judge Cachalia reflected on his role in the realisation and upholding of the constitution, from his days as a student activist, then as an attorney representing detainees during political turmoil, and currently as a judge: “My role as an attorney was to defend people arrested for public violence. My role as a judge today is to uphold the constitution.”  He stressed the importance of the constitution today, and the responsibility institutions such as the police service have in upholding human rights.  Judge Cachalia played a significant role in drafting the new Police Act around 1990, an Act which was to ensure that the offences perpetrated by the police during apartheid did not continue in the current democratic era. Further, he pointed out that societal turmoil has the potential to make society forget about the hard work that was put into structures upholding human rights. “Constitutions are drafted in moments of calm.  It is a living document, and we hope it is not torn up when we go through social conflict, such as we are experiencing at present.”

Thobeka Dywili, a Law student at the UFS, presented her views from the new generation’s perspective.  She relayed her experience as a student teaching human rights at schools in disadvantaged communities. She realised that, although the youth are quite aware of their basic human rights, after so many years of democracy, “women and children are still seen as previously disadvantaged when they should be equal”. She pointed out that, with the changing times, the constitution needs to be looked at with a new set of eyes, suggesting more robust youth engagement on topics that affect them, using technology to facilitate discussions. She said with the help of social media, it is possible for a simple discussion to become a revolution; #feesmustfall was a case in point.

Critical perspectives on the constitution were presented by Tsepo Madlingozi of University of Pretoria and University of London. In his view, the constitution has not affected policy to the extent that it should, with great disparities in our society and glaring issues, such as lack of housing for the majority of the poor.  “Celebration of the constitution should be muted, as the constitution is based on a decolonisation approach, and does not directly address the needs of the poor. The Constitutional Court is not pro-poor.”  He posed the question of whether twenty years on, the present government has crafted a new society successfully.  “We have moved from apartheid to neo-apartheid, as black elites assimilate into the white world, and the two worlds that exist have not been able to stand together as a reflection of what the constitution stands for.”

Prof Caroline Nicholson, Dean of the Faculty of Law, encouraged more open discussions, saying such dialogues are exactly what was intended by the Centre for Human Rights. She emphasised the importance of exchanging ideas, of allowing people to speak freely, and of sharing perspectives on important issues such as the constitution and human rights.

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