For several years General Mills has successfully maintained a sensory evaluation program throughout their manufacturing facilities, with guidance from a centralized Operations Sensory (QC Sensory) department at their research center. Consumer responses determine the attributes and their limits that are key to product acceptance prior to the launch of new products. Sensory panels both at the manufacturing location and at the research center are trained on these select attributes using samples representing target and ranges in intensity for each attribute. Daily grading of product at each manufacturing location is based on deviation-from-a-reference scaling vs. a “gold standard”, with periodic calibration of each panel relative to blind-coded duplicates and other panels' ratings. The success of this program has been well illustrated by a reduction in consumer complaints, consistency of product both within and across manufacturing locations, and cost savings with decreases in rejected product. There has been a general shift in company culture from a management-driven to an employee-driven quality program, which stems from genuine pride and individual desire for excellence in product quality.