Silvia C. King

Effects of social interaction, physical environment and food choice freedom on consumption in a meal-testing environment

Consumption of pizza, salad and iced tea was assessed in four separate tests at a central location. Three aspects of context were added in successive tests-social interaction during consumption, the physical environment in which the food was consumed and choice among foods-so that the fourth test had all effects present. The proportion consumed averaged from 79 to 82% of the food presented and increased significantly in the presence of one or more of the context manipulations. Salad consumption was higher when there was a choice of dressings in an enhanced environment. Pizza and tea consumption were higher in an enhanced restaurant-like environment. Social interaction alone has no detectable impact on food consumption. It is concluded that people eat more in enhanced contexts and careful consideration should be given to the environment in studies of food consumption.

The Sensory Quality System: a global quality control solution

Abstract Assuring product quality is paramount to the success of any consumer product company that competes in the global marketplace. Quality Control/Quality Assurance programs must be in place to guarantee the consistent delivery of goods to consumers. However, establishing a successful QC/QA program has numerous obstacles within a single country’s borders and crossing international lines exponentially increases the hurdles. The Sensory Quality System described in this paper has proven to be an effective program to maintain product quality in an international environment for a global food company.