5. Conclusions
Deterioration of the sensory quality of a product could be
caused by manufacturing or distribution processes; sometimes it
can be a result of the subjective preference of consumers. In-plant
sensory quality control is required before products are transported
from the warehouse to verify whether the sensory quality problem
was in the manufacturing process. However, there is a lack of sensory
quality control systems in place during distribution of the
refrigerated and frozen products. Using the SQI as a sensory quality
management system could be a simple method of diagnosing the
sensory quality level of products based on consumer responses.
Food companies cannot satisfy all consumers’ subjective preferences,
however they should know whether there was an assignable
deterioration of sensory quality during the distribution process.
The SQI can be used as a sensory quality limit for distribution process,
and the level of the sensory quality limit can be set by the
company.