IMPLEMENTING SENSORY ANALYSIS PRINCIPLES IN THE QUALITY CONTROL OF PDO PRODUCTS: A CRITICAL EVALUATION OF A REAL-WORLD CASE STUDY I. ENDRIZZI 1 , E. APREA 1 , F. BIASIOLI 1 , M L. COROLLARO 1 , M L. DEMATTÈ 1 , M. PENASA 2 , G. BITTANTE 2 and F. GASPERI 1,3 1 Food Quality and Nutrition Department, IASMA Research and Innovation Centre - Fondazione Edmund Mach, Via E. Mach 1, 38010 S. Michele all’Adige (TN), Italy 2 Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural resources, Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Legnaro (PD), Italy 3 Corresponding author. TEL: +39-0461-615186; FAX: +39-0461-650-096; EMAIL: flavia.gasperi@fmach.it Accepted for Publication October 22, 2012 doi:10.1111/joss.12018 ABSTRACT This study describes and analyses a practical implementation of basic sensory analysis principles in a productive context related to typical products. As a case study, we investigated the quality control (QC) system of Trentingrana cheese, a variety of the protected designation of origin Grana Padano. The production of Trentingrana cheese factories is supervised by their consortium through the assessment of sensory quality attributes by an expert panel; and, depending on the evaluation, the associated dairies receive price premiums or penalties. The proce- dures applied and the data collected over 8 years were evaluated, and critical points were identified. Ameliorations were suggested in accordance with good sensory practice and were verified over an additional 3-year period. The QC system has been improved by increasing the number of evaluated samples propor- tionally to the amount of the production of each dairy, by introducing a balanced experimental design, by monitoring experts’ performance and by controlling the sample presentation to avoid systematic effects and psychological errors. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS With this work, we demonstrate the viability of applying the sensory approach to quality control (QC) within the food industry of typical products. The QC pro- posed here is a compromise between the practical constraints of implementing sensory testing procedures in an industrial context and the basic requirements of good sensory practice for collecting reliable data. Nevertheless, the implemented QC represents an example of an efficient strategy for protected designation of origin product valorization, fundamental for preserving both market position and consumer confidence and loyalty toward the product. INTRODUCTION Perceived food quality is a key issue both for producers and consumers. This issue is even more important in the case of typical products, a challenging situation for Italy, which has a preeminent position among the European countries, with the highest number of registered products under the EU regulation N°510/2006 (89 protected geo- graphical indication (PGI) and 152 protected designation of origin (PDO) products; http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/ quality/door). For all these products, a proper and constant quality control (QC) based on sensory parameters is fundamental for preserving the market position and profitability, and for maintaining consumer confidence and loyalty toward the product (Delahunty and Drake 2004). For these reasons, sensory techniques should be an integral part of product QC also because perceived sensory characteristics represent the most important key factors for typicality of a product (Cayot 2007). Despite its constantly growing application in QC (for an overview, see Muñoz 2002; for applicative studies in the Journal of Sensory Studies ISSN 0887-8250 14 Journal of Sensory Studies 28 (2013) 14–24 © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.