Winter 2026 37 THIS PAGE: KARL MAASDAM, '93 ty of taste testers. A food company may be interested in a very specific group of consumers, and to get good results, a test needs to be statistically sound. In Portland, a test with 100 tasters is typical. To find them, the center has a database of about 50,000 people. OSU’s original lab in Corvallis, the Center for Sensory and Consumer Behavior Research, has a smaller database, around 2,500 people. The minimum needed for a test there is 67. Sara Maruyama, ’15, M.Sc. ’21, who manages this center in Wiegand Hall, noted that even the time of day can affect test results. She’s been doing a series of coffee creamer tests and tries to schedCOUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP The Corvallis sensory lab hires undergraduates like Emily Hull, pictured, to help run taste tests. It’s relevant research experience but sometimes means counting peanuts, literally. Making samples exactly the same is so important that when trail mix is being tested, every cup gets the same number of each ingredient, starting with 14 whole peanuts or 28 halves. Finished samples are passed through the booth windows to testers. When receiving his $40 payment, one 7-year-old jumped for joy. ule them in the morning. But don’t ask testers to eat ice cream at 10 a.m., she said. “People aren’t ready for it that early.” In the summer, Maruyama avoids scheduling in the late afternoon because the testing booths can get too hot. Grumpy testers aren’t inclined to like anything and therefore don’t typically provide helpful feedback to food companies. Still, in general, she said, testers come in and leave happy. They’re going to get paid for having a snack, and they’re excited to know that their opinions matter. In July, the Portland center asked kids ages 5 to 18 to taste crackers for a school snack program. When receiving his $40 payment, one 7-year-old jumped for joy. In this case, testers too young to read questions on the computer had an adult helper. Sometimes kid surveys use emojis. But rest assured, even the youngest testers have strong opinions about taste.An assessment of baby foods, Colonna said, gets down to basics: Did the infant eat it or spit it out?
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