The packager's dilemma
A package must protect and preserve its contents. It must not add or remove odours or flavours from what it contains. There are laws to say that packages must not modify their contents, and the market especially makes demands on the properties of packaging. The more vulnerable the contents of a package are, the greater are the demands made on the packaging. Smell and taste affect packaging in different ways.
The consumer does not care in the least whether the glue or the paperboard individually has a neutral odour. He or she wants the chocolate or other food in the package to be untainted. Therefore it is extremely important for all those who work in the chain of distribution between producer and consumer to be aware of the odour and flavour issue.
Our laboratory - the guardian of good taste
The Laboratory for Sensory and Chemical Analyses handles:
- production control
- troubleshooting
- technical service
- development projects (often in close co-operation with our customers)
For taint and odour analysis, a combinatory approach of human sensory analysis coupled with chemical analysis is used. Human sensory analysis will determine whether there is taste and/or smell, and a chemical analysis will determine the source of it.
The Laboratory for Sensory and Chemical Analyses has been an accredited laboratory for sensory measurement since 2000. The accreditation requires absolute quality standards which are guaranteed and inspected by the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC). The accreditation is also a guarantee that tests and measurements are done objectively using approved and tested methods.