Continuing Education
Please note that The Society of Sensory Professionals provides information on upcoming conferences, symposia, and commericial courses for member
information purposes only, with no intention of recommending or endorsing anything listed.
Submissions to the CE area may be made by using either the conference
or course form.
Descriptive Analysis
May 2012
Flavor Spectrum Descriptive Analysis
This course is a “how to taste” course and will cover, in depth, the components
of descriptive flavor analysis; the characteristics (qualitative), the intensity
(quantitative), the timing (temporal), and overall impressions, etc. Attention will
be given to the physiology of taste and olfaction, and application of descriptive
analysis to the evaluation of specific products. Upon completion of this course,
participants will have gained an understanding of the physiology and the process
of learning the flavors for a specific product category. Participants will have had
an opportunity to practice tasting several types of products and thus understand
how, with a common lexicon and a common intensity scale, individuals can
communicate clearly and similarly about flavors.
Location: Sensory Spectrum, 554 Central Avenue, New Providence, New Jersey, United States
From: May 15, 2012 to May 18, 2012
Offered by: Sensory Spectrum
Target audience: Beginner
Cost: $ 2,450 USD
Further information: See page 10 in the 2012 Course Booklet;
http://www.sensoryspectrum.com/docs/SensorySpectrum2012CourseBooklet.pdf
A Powerful Framework for Sensory Product Testing
In this 2-day course, you will achieve a deeper understanding of traditional discrimination and rating methods by learning a common framework in which to interpret results across methodologies. In particular, you will learn how to select the most suitable and powerful discrimination methodology based on project objectives, how to develop standards to detect when sensory differences and ratings exceed a consumer-relevant acceptability threshold, how to assess and manage risks in product testing decisions, and effectively use the “no preference/difference” option. Invited speaker, Frank Rossi, Associate Director of Applied Quantitative Sciences at Kraft Foods, will talk about issues in risk management in product testing.
Location: The Radisson BLU EU, Brussels, Belgium
From: May 21, 2012 to May 22, 2012
Offered by: The Institute for Perception
Target audience: Intermediate
Cost: €750; 50% discount applied to each additional registrant from the same company, Academic discount available
Further information: http://ifpress.com/short-courses/
Drivers of Liking® and Product Portfolio Optimization
Learn to “see” the market from your consumers’ perspective as you develop an understanding of similarity, Drivers of Liking,® and Landscape Segmentation Analysis.® In this 2.5-day course, you will actively: Construct maps with products and consumer ideal points and identify products’ strengths and weaknesses using descriptive and analytical data; Understand the limitations of internal preference mapping based on 27 category appraisals conducted at a major consumer products company; Find consumer segments using individual ideals; Use mapping results to improve existing products and conduct computer-aided design of new products. Invited speaker, Dr. Kevin Blot of Unilever, will show applications of LSA in new introductions.
Location: The Radisson BLU EU, Brussels, Belgium
From: May 23, 2012 to May 25, 2012
Offered by: The Institute for Perception
Target audience: Intermediate
Cost: €950; 50% discount applied to each additional registrant from the same company, Academic discount available
Further information: http://ifpress.com/short-courses/
November 2012
Sensory Evaluation of Fragranced Products
This course is designed to enable participants to acquire or deepen their skills
in fragrance/odor identification and description. Odor profiling techniques are
reviewed in detail and learning is applied to multiple product categories including
finished products and raw materials. Special attention is given to fragrance brief
development, assessment of the technical performance of fragrances, (fragrance/
odor and malodor, masking and off-odors) and scent fidelity. Challenges of
testing with fragranced products are also covered, with focus on subjects (whether
trained or naïve), site/environment, samples, sensory methods and descriptors.
Attention to consumer responses to fragrances covers the qualitative and
quantitative assessment of the emotional and functional benefits of scents in
complex products. Discussions on the alignment of fragrance imagery with other
sensory modalities and the avoidance of cognitive dissonance in fragranced
products. A fragrance reference kit is provided to each participant for use in the course
and retain for future study and reference. Participants are encouraged to bring
working samples to the class for analysis.
Location: Sensory Spectrum, 554 Central Avenue, New Providence, New Jersey, United States , United States
From: November 7, 2012 to November 9, 2012
Offered by: Sensory Spectrum
Target audience: Beginner
Cost: $2,050 USD
Further information: See page 12 in the 2012 Course Booklet;
http://www.sensoryspectrum.com/docs/SensorySpectrum2012CourseBooklet.pdf
