Course Title: Human Sensory Evaluation

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Human Sensory Evaluation

Credit Points: 12.00

Terms

Course Code	Campus	Career	School	Learning Mode	Teaching Period(s)
ONPS2189	City Campus	Undergraduate	135H Applied Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2012, Sem 1 2013, Sem 1 2014, Sem 1 2015
ONPS2331	City Campus	Postgraduate	135H Applied Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 2 2006, Sem 1 2007, Sem 1 2008, Sem 1 2009, Sem 1 2010, Sem 2 2011, Sem 1 2015
ONPS2520	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	135H Applied Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2016
ONPS2520	Bundoora Campus	Undergraduate	171H School of Science	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2017, Sem 2 2017, Sem 2 2019, Sem 2 2020, Sem 2 2021, Sem 2 2022, Sem 2 2023, Sem 2 2024, Sem 2 2025
ONPS2526	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	135H Applied Sciences	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2016
ONPS2526	Bundoora Campus	Postgraduate	171H School of Science	Face-to-Face	Sem 1 2017, Sem 2 2017, Sem 2 2019, Sem 2 2020, Sem 2 2021, Sem 2 2022, Sem 2 2023
ONPS2697	RMIT University Vietnam	Undergraduate	171H School of Science	Face-to-Face	Viet3 2023, Viet3 2024

Course Coordinator: Dr Lisa Newman

Course Coordinator Phone: -

Course Coordinator Email: lisa.newman@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Availability: Please email for an appointment

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

Assumed Knowledge

You should have knowledge of basic statistics and be familiar with a statistical package such as Minitab, SPSS or the Excel statistics add-on.

Course Description

Sensory science plays a pivotal role in research and contributes significantly to product development, quality control, and quality assurance. Understanding how foods impact our senses involves complex interactions influenced by numerous factors, such as the nature and presentation of the food matrix, and the age, gender, background, and sensory sensitivity of the consumer. Testing conditions also play a crucial role. Despite these challenges, sensory evaluation is essential for verifying the potential success of new products or assessing modifications to existing ones.

This course aims to enhance students' understanding and practical application of sensory evaluation. Through a blend of theoretical study and hands-on exploration, students will engage with real-world sensory problems, working collaboratively in teams to develop solutions.

Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

This course contributes to the program learning outcomes for the following program(s):

BP199P23 - Bachelor of Food Technology and Nutrition
BP289FTNDD - Bachelor of Food Technology and Nutrition/Bachelor of Business

PLO 1 Apply a broad and coherent knowledge of scientific theories, principles, concepts and practices relevant to the fields of food technology and nutrition.
PLO 3 Apply principles of scientific inquiry, tools and techniques relevant to food and nutrition industries to solve problems and inform evidence-based decision making.
PLO 4 Critically evaluate and communicate concepts and practices relevant to the fields of food technology and nutrition to diverse audiences utilising contemporary and traditional formats employing professional integrity and culturally safe practices.

BP350 - Bachelor of Science (Nutrition Science Major)

PLO 1 Apply a broad and coherent knowledge of scientific theories, principles, concepts and practice in one or more scientific disciplines.
PLO 3 Analyse and apply principles of scientific inquiry and critical evaluation to address real-world scientific challenges and inform evidence based decision making.
PLO 4 Communicate, report and reflect on scientific findings, to diverse audiences utilising a variety of formats employing integrity and culturally safe practices.

BP199P7 - Bachelor of Food Technology and Nutrition
BH099FTNDD - Bachelor of Science (Food Technology & Nutrition)/Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering)(Hons)

PLO 2.1 You will demonstrate a depth and breadth of the core concepts in food technology and nutrition.
PLO 2.2 You will demonstrate an ability to implement the principles and practices that underpins product development, food processing, ingredient interactions, and quality assurance.
PLO 2.3 You will develop an appreciation of the significance of research and management to the development and production of innovative, safe and healthy foods.

For more information on the program learning outcomes for your program, please see the program guide.

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to:

1. Compare, select and use appropriate discrimination, descriptive and affective methods of sensory evaluation and apply these to real world scenarios;
2. Explain and apply the importance of untrained and trained panellists including the procedure needed to train panellists;
3. Explain the sensory physiology of colour, taste and odour (flavour), and describe how we perceive them and factors that affect perception, drawing from real world examples;
4. Describe and apply the principles and practices of sensory analysis for product development and novel technologies;
5. Locate and critique peer reviewed sensory science literature, identifying gaps in the literature, and apply effective written and oral communication skills to disseminate foundation knowledge, and interpretation skills for sensory data including statistical analysis.
6. Demonstrate the ability to reflect on acquired skills and knowledge to identify ongoing learning opportunities, aligning them with future career paths and professional growth

Overview of Learning Activities

You will be actively engaged in a range of learning activities such as lectorials, tutorials, practicals, laboratories, seminars, project work, class discussion, individual and group activities. Delivery may be face to face, online or a mix of both.

You are encouraged to be proactive and self-directed in your learning, asking questions of your lecturer and/or peers and seeking out information as required, especially from the numerous sources available through the RMIT library, and through links and material specific to this course that is available through myRMIT Studies Course

Overview of Learning Resources

RMIT will provide you with resources and tools for learning in this course through myRMIT Studies Course.

Weekly learning resources are set up and available in Canvas.

A list of recommended learning resources will be provided by your lecturer, which may include books, journal articles and web resources. You will also be expected to seek further resources relevant to the focus of your own learning.

There are services available to support your learning through the University Library. The Library provides guides on academic referencing and subject specialist help as well as a range of study support services. For further information, please visit the Library page on the RMIT University website and the myRMIT student portal.

Overview of Assessment

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task 1: Career Reflection (Individual; Written and Oral)
Weighting: 15%
This assessment task supports CLOs 4 & 6

Assessment Task 2: Practical Test (Individual; Written)
Weighting: 25%
This assessment task supports CLOs 1, 2, 4 & 6

Assessment Task 3: Descriptive Analysis Report (Team-based; Oral)
Weighting: 30%
This assessment task supports CLOs 2, 3, 4 & 5

Assessment Task 4: Sensory Perception Education Resource (Individual; Written)
Weighting: 30%
This assessment task supports CLOs 3 & 5

If you have a long-term medical condition and/or disability it may be possible to negotiate to vary aspects of the learning or assessment methods. You can contact the program coordinator or Equitable Learning Services if you would like to find out more.