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The Company’s Best Yogurt

The Importance of Statistics in Food Product Development

By Helen S. Joyner

The Company’s Best Yogurt


 

Abstract

In this case study, students assume the roles of research and development personnel in a dairy company that is developing a low-fat yogurt. Guided by research provided by the company's marketing department, students must select attributes of the yogurt to improve, develop an experimental design for evaluating the effects of ingredients on their selected attribute, analyze the data generated from their design, and determine their most successful formulation. Students should be familiar with ANOVA and basic experimental design and have an understanding of general principles of quality management in food manufacturing. Originally developed for a senior-level undergraduate statistical quality management course, this case is also appropriate for courses focusing on quality management in industrial settings, as well as a general undergraduate statistics or an experimental design course.

   

Date Posted

07/28/2014

Overview

Objectives

  • Discuss aspects of experimental design required for a given scenario.
  • Create an experimental design for a one-factor ANOVA test.
  • Determine the null and alternative hypotheses for a one-factor ANOVA test.
  • Calculate one-factor ANOVA parameters given a data set.
  • Analyze the results of a one-factor ANOVA test and decide whether to accept or reject the null hypothesis.
  • Explain how ANOVA results can assist in research and development of a food product.

Keywords

Statistics; quality management; quality control; food safety; food quality; research and development; product development; experimental design; data analysis; analysis of variance; ANOVA; food industry; yogurt; dairy products

  

Subject Headings

Food Science / Technology
Statistics

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

Undergraduate upper division, Graduate, Continuing education

  

FORMAT

PDF

   

TOPICAL AREAS

N/A

   

LANGUAGE

English

   

TYPE/METHODS

Analysis (Issues), Discussion, Interrupted

 

 

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