The InnoFoodAfrica (IFA) project continued to make significant progress in the conduct of country specific market and consumer surveys to support the development of new value chains, nutritional guidelines and food design in the four project countries of Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and South Africa. This included initiating the development of resources including an online guide on demographic profiles of consumers, and the conduct of value chain assessment and market surveys in the project countries.
Online sensory training toolbox completed
The IFA Sensory Training Toolbox that commenced in March 2021 was successfully concluded in June 2021. The online weekly workshops/lectures were attended by 221 participants drawn from tertiary educational institutions across various African countries. The webinar recordings of the trainings can be accessed here IFA Sensory & Consumer Testing Training Webinars – InnoFoodAfrica. The trainings focused on the use of the IFA Sensory Training Toolbox by food chain actors to understand the sensory properties of food products and to learn how to use sensory and consumer tests to create more sustainable food systems.
Consumer product testing guide under development
The online guide that is currently being compiled defines information on the demographic profiles of consumers and cultural practices in the four countries. The book is based on the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) cross-cultural consumer testing guideline document. The introductory chapter of the book and another on demographic profile of consumers and cultural practices in Ethiopia is ready and has been developed in collaboration with the Africa Network for Sensory Evaluation Research (ANSWER). This portion of the guide was promoted and used during the Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium organised by ANSWER in August 2021 and attended by close to 300 participants. It is also available on the InnoFoodAfrica website here. The other three country profiles are scheduled for completion in 2022.
