Sensory Training

SENSORY TRAINING

TARGETED TRAINING FOR OBJECTIVE RESULTS

Objective sensory evaluations are a fundamentally important tool in the food industry, e.g. for product development, quality assurance, quality control and marketing/sales. Therefore, it is important that the employees of an in-house sensory team are appropriately trained in sensory terms and have the necessary know-how regarding test preparation, execution and evaluation. Ultimately, these employees are the "sensory measuring instruments" that determine the validity of sensory evaluations.

SERVICE PACKAGE

The Oltmer Food Academy offers sensory training courses for your employees, tailored to the specific requirements of your company – with an "all-round service package":

  • Establishment and training of the sensory skills of the participants in accordance with international standards
  • Additional sensory testing methods, e.g. for the evaluation of spicyness, show your employees detailed characteristics of their sensory perception, so that they can optimally use them in your company
  • Detailed presentation of personal results and sensory performance
  • Evaluation of group results of the sensory test methods conducted
  • Know-how for the preparation, implementation and evaluation of sensory tests in your company
  • Uniform descriptive technical vocabulary for the sensory evaluation and discussion of food
  • Integration into the training of your products (and relevant competitor products) as well as ingredients that are particularly relevant for your company
  • Use of the specially developed OFC sensory app on tablets to enter sensory evaluations
  • Immediate personalised test evaluation using statistical methods
  • Graphic representations of sensory profiles of e.g. company products in comparison with competitor products

 

TRAINING MODULES

Sensory training courses at the Oltmer Food Academy are modular, so that they can be combined according to the requirements of your company. The modules include:

  • Theoretical fundamentals of sensory food evaluation
  • Practical workshops, including sensory training regarding colour, taste, smell and texture in accordance with international standards
  • Sensory tasting and statistical evaluation methods
  • Intensive training in descriptive sensory evaluations, on request to compare your products with competitors’ products (e.g. for the identification of potential product or process optimizations)

The module content can be tailored to your company and your requirements. Each training participant receives detailed evaluations regarding their personal sensory skills.
The Oltmer Food Academy offers special sensory trainings together with relevant co-operating partners, e.g. on the subject of sensory evaluation of smoke in cooperation with Red Arrow Handels-GmbH.  Please do not hesitate to contact us to find out more.

 

 

»Valid sensory evaluations provide essential information for a wide range of functional areas in food companies. Without appropriately trained staff, these are not possible.«

 

YOUR PARTICIPANTS

The Oltmer Food Academy organises sensory training courses for up to 8 participants from your company, e.g.:

  • Candidates to set up a company-internal sensory panel, potentially from all areas of your company
  • Members of an existing sensory panel within your company
  • Employees from all departments who need to be trained regarding their sensory skills

If you are planning sensory training courses for larger groups, please contact us regarding the development of a suitable concept using the contact form.

THE TRAINERS

The experienced team of trainers at the Oltmer Food Academy includes:

Jürgen Oltmer

Graduate Engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) Food Technology, Founder and Managing Director of Oltmer Food Consulting GmbH. Since 1996, he has been taking part in DLG sensory tests as a voluntary DLG tester and assessor (DLG = German Agricultural Society). He has already designed and carried out consulting and training projects in more than 20 countries, both within and outside Europe.

Kirsten Buchecker

Graduate Engineer (Dipl.-Ing.) Food Technology, who has been working in food and sensory research for 25 years, sensory expert and member of DGSens (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sensorik =  German Society for Sensory Science). She is the author of several sensory science textbooks and a lecturer for sensory food science at the Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences since 2006.

Lina Kleemeyer

Bachelor of Engineering, wrote her bachelor's thesis in the field of sensory food science and is the sensory portfolio representative of Oltmer Food Consulting GmbH. She is responsible for the planning and implementation of sensory training courses of the Oltmer Food Academy as well as for the further development of sensory technology 4.0.

TRAINING LOCATIONS

The sensory training courses at the Oltmer Food Academy take place in the in-house Sensory 4.0 area or – with specially designed mobile equipment – at the customer's request directly in the respective company or at another suitable location.

 

At Oltmer Food Academy

  • Sensory training in the Sensory 4.0 area of the fully equipped OFC Technology Centre
  • On request, combination with production process workshops
  • Training for up to 8 participants per group
  • All module offers
  • Sensory training course with theoretical fundamentals
  • All-round service for your stay

 

At your company

  • Sensory training in your company with our mobile Oltmer Food Academy sensory training equipment
  • Some modules can be run with more than 8 participants per group. Please contact us in this regard using the contact form.
  • Sensory training course with theoretical fundamentals
  • In advance, agreement on the training framework using the Oltmer Food Academy Checklist

 

Other desired venue

  • Sensory seminars at your desired venue with our mobile Oltmer Food Academy sensory training equipment
  • Some modules can be run with more than 8 participants per group. Please contact us in this regard using the contact form
  • Sensory training course with theoretical fundamentals
  • In advance, agreement on the training framework using the Oltmer Food Academy Checklist

SENSORY TECHNOLOGY 4.0 AREA

As an integral part of the OFC Technology Centre, the Sensory 4.0 area of the Oltmer Food Academy is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including e.g. sensory booths, group tasting table, sample preparation room, reusable training equipment, an in-house developed sensory app for entering evaluations on tablets and a conference room for results presentations and discussions. It is therefore the ideal facility for objective sensory testing of food and target-oriented training courses, which can on request also be combined with production process trainings.

Sensory-App

As part of the Oltmer Food Academy's sensory training courses, participants use a "smart" developed, user-friendly OFC sensory app optimized for mobile devices to enter their evaluations. Entries are simply typed in and the results are displayed immediately at the push of a button.

At the end of the training, the app automatically converts the group results into a presentation. Each participant receives their own detailed test results with regard to their personal sensory skills so that they can then best contribute to sensory tests in the company. This eliminates the need for hard copy paper records and subsequent time-consuming results analysis.

Another variant of the OFC sensory app is used to enter and analyse sensory evaluations in the day-to-day business of food companies. With it, results can be saved anonymously, long-term evaluations can be created, and data can be exported in alternative formats as well as easily archived. This offers a variety of advantages, including the immediate availability of results presentations and the possibility of very easily making comparisons with previous sensory evaluations, e.g. in the case of recurring sensory tastings in product development, quality assurance in production, sales/marketing or the determination of consumer expectations. If you are interested in the OFC sensory app, please contact us