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For many food and beverage manufacturers, the festive period brings a welcome shutdown in production. Reduced output room offers operational breathing room but it also introduces a unique set of quality risks. Extended downtime, lower staff levels and delayed decision-making can all create the perfect conditions for small quality issues to escalate into problems, that are often quite costly, when production resumes.
Stopping productions efficiently is not the only goal when it comes to a successful holiday shutdown. You must protect the quality throughout the slowdown, this will set you up for a smooth, consistent restart in the new year.

Why holiday shutdowns are higher risk periods
Quality challenges don’t take a holiday. When production slows, businesses often operate with leaner teams, which can increase vulnerability to unnoticed deviations. Ingredients may sit in storage for longer than usual, in-process materials may be placed on hold, and quality decisions can be delayed if key personnel are unavailable.
These factors combine to make shutdown periods one of the highest-risk times of the year for flavour drift, raw material degradation, and process inconsistency. Without careful planning, manufacturers may only discover these issues once products reach the market, when it is already too late.

What Is Human Sensory Augmentation?
Human Sensory Augmentation refers to the use of technologies designed to enhance, extend, or support human sensory capabilities. Rather than replacing human expertise, augmentation focuses on improving performance, consistency, and efficiency by enabling humans and analytical instruments to work collaboratively. Within sensory science, this approach allows for deeper insight into product quality, flavour stability, and consumer experience by combining human perception with objective data.

The Role of Sensory Panels and the Need for Augmentation
Human sensory panels remain a cornerstone of quality control and product development in the food and beverage industry. Trained panellists can detect complex flavour profiles, subtle off-notes, and textural changes in a way that is intuitive, descriptive, and directly relevant to consumer perception.
However, sensory panels also present practical challenges. They require consistent availability of trained individuals, controlled testing environments, and ongoing calibration to maintain proficiency. External influences such as fatigue, health, and environmental factors can introduce variability. While these challenges are manageable, they can limit efficiency when sensory data is required frequently or at scale.
Augmenting human sensory panels with analytical instruments addresses these limitations. By combining subjective sensory evaluation with objective, repeatable measurements, organisations can improve confidence in results, reduce risk, and streamline decision-making processes.

Benefits of Augmenting Human Sensory
The primary benefit of sensory augmentation is the ability to collect both qualitative and quantitative data simultaneously. Analytical instruments provide consistency, sensitivity, and reproducibility, while human sensory panels contribute contextual understanding, relevance, and interpretation.
This combined approach enables:
• Faster and more efficient quality assessments
• Improved detection of early-stage defects or flavour changes
• Greater confidence in product release and shelf-life decisions
• Enhanced understanding of the relationship between chemical data and human perception
By integrating these methodologies, sensory programmes can be optimised without compromising the value of human expertise.

How FlavorActiV Maximises Sensory Efficiency Through Augmentation
At FlavorActiV, we believe that the most effective sensory strategies are built on collaboration between people and technology. By complementing trained tasting panels with industry-leading analytical instruments, we enhance overall sensory efficiency while maintaining a strong focus on human perception.
Electronic Nose (E-Nose)
The Electronic Nose is designed to mimic aspects of human olfaction while extending detection capabilities beyond the limits of human sensory. Using an array of gas sensors that act as receptors, the E-Nose detects volatile compounds and converts them into digital signals for analysis. These patterns can be used to identify aromas, detect deviations, and monitor consistency over time.
While human sensory panels excel at interpretation and description, the E-Nose offers high sensitivity and repeatability. At FlavorActiV, the E-Nose plays a significant role in our FlavorForensics approach, where multiple evaluation methods are applied in parallel. By combining instrumental data with sensory feedback, we maximise the efficiency and reliability of product exploration and fault investigation.
microESR
The microESR is a precise and reliable tool used to assess freshness and oxidative stability in beer. Through ESR lag-time analysis, the instrument measures the oxidation profile associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS), which contribute to flavour staling during storage or as a result of trace transition metals such as iron or copper.
This data provides valuable insight into how brewing processes, raw materials, and handling practices impact long-term flavour stability. At FlavorActiV, microESR analysis is used alongside sensory evaluation to identify actionable improvements within the brewing process, supporting prolonged freshness and consistent product quality.

A Holistic Approach to Sensory Science
Augmenting human sensory panels with analytical instruments allows for more efficient, robust, and confident quality control. Instruments enhance repeatability and sensitivity, while trained panellists ensure that results remain relevant to real-world sensory experience.
Despite advances in technology, no single instrument can fully replicate the breadth and nuance of human sensory perception. For this reason, human sensory remains essential. At FlavorActiV, our holistic approach integrates Flavour Standards, Taster Proficiency, Sensory Training, and Instrumentation to support global food and beverage quality. By maximising efficiency through augmentation, we ensure that technology strengthens human sensory expertise, rather than replacing it, delivering results that are both scientifically sound and sensorially meaningful.