Food development

Foods are developed in a number of stages. They need to be tested and evaluated throughout these stages to ensure they are meeting requirements.

Brief

The first stage of food development is the brief, which is the problem that needs to be solved. For example, developing a lasagne for health conscious consumers.

Market research

Market research means finding out information about what people want from a product. It includes studying market trends and shopping habits. This can be done by conducting surveys, questionnaires, and telephone interviews. For example, would people buy a low fat lasagne?

Design specification

The design specification is the first attempt at listing the needs of the product. It includes:

• size
• shape
• shelf life
• weight
• sensory characteristics (taste, texture, appearance, etc)
• costs
• ingredients (with quantities)
• equipment

Watch this Learning Zone Broadband video about developing a new vegetarian ready meal.