Expert panels: what are 5 Do’s and Don’ts?

Expert panels consist of panellists who possess expert skills in smelling and tasting products, ranking within the top 10% of tasters. These panellists undergo extensive training to discern product differences that ordinary consumers might overlook. Expert panellists play a vital role in recipe changes or quality checks and offer detailed and reliable product descriptions. We have distinguished 5 Do’s and Don’ts for utilising expert panels:

𝘋𝘰’𝘴:
– Provide comprehensive training to ensure panellists receive thorough instruction in sensory evaluation techniques;
– Define clear evaluation criteria for product sensory attributes, guiding panellists to maintain consistency and reliability in their assessments;
– Foster diversity in panel composition by including panellists with varying levels of expertise, sensory perceptions, age and gender;
– Encourage open communication among panellists by allowing them to discuss their sensory perceptions, share understandings and reach agreement on evaluations;
– Persuade panellists to engage in continuous learning and development to expand their sensory expertise by providing opportunities for training and improvement.

𝘋𝘰𝘯’𝘵𝘴:
– Overlook panellist selection; carefully screen potential panellists to ensure they meet the required criteria;
– Rely solely on individual judgements; consider aggregated responses from the entire panel;
– Neglect environmental factors that may affect sensory perceptions, such as temperature, humidity and ambient odours. Control these factors during testing;
– Disregard panellist motivation; ensure panellists remain motivated and engaged in sensory evaluations by recognising their contributions and expertise;
– Exclude diverse perspectives; strive for a variety of backgrounds and experiences among panellists as they can offer valuable insights into sensory evaluations.

That’s it! These were 5 Do’s and Don’ts we recognised for an expert panel.

Curious how our expert panel can be useful for your products?

You can contact us via essensor@essensor.nl or via +31 (0)318 45 22 22