Superior Taste Award
Encyclopedia
The Superior Taste Award is a prize bestowed annually recognising food and beverages with excellent taste and quality. The awards have been granted since 2005 by the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi), seated in Brussels
, Belgium
.
The award gives marketing tools and arguments to differentiate food and drink products towards distributors and consumers. It provides also a reports of the sensory analysis
made by a European jury of chef
s, sommelier
s and beverage experts useful for quality departments.
(soy products), Baltika Breweries (beer), Carlsberg (beer), Chimay
(cheese), Coca-Cola Germany
(Apollinaris
), Damm
(beer), Del Monte Foods
(pineapple), Franz Simmler (jam), Granini
(fruit juice), Heineken
(beer), Higa Shuzo Co. Ltd. (sake), AB InBev (Leffe
beer), Kouroushis (dairy products), Mevgal
(dairy products), Nestlé Waters
(S.Pellegrino), NewTree (chocolate), Prenzel (liqueurs), San Roque (Peruvian dessert), Source Saint Elie (mineral water), Sovena (extra virgin olive oil
), Ron Montero (rum
), United Spirits (spirits) etc.
s, as they have an unmatched expertise in tasting. iTQi works with the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) and with chefs from the following European organisations:
. Foods are tested by a jury of chefs and drinks by sommeliers and beverage experts.
Products are blind tested solely on their own merit (not compared), with the focus on the intensity of gustatory pleasures and the sensory analysis
methodology. Organoleptic
criteria are scored (first impression, appearance, smell
, texture, taste
and aftertaste
/retro-olfaction and commented on by each judge. Each product is classified in one of 270 categories and prepared as instructed by the manufacturer.
Each judge gives a score for each criterion as well as a comment justifying the grade. All the scores by the jury are compiled with taste and first impression having a higher weight. The final results are communicated confidentially to the participating manufacturers with a report accompanying the analysis, comments and further suggestions about their products.
Awards are often considered as the "Michelin Guide
" for consumer foods and drinks.
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
The award gives marketing tools and arguments to differentiate food and drink products towards distributors and consumers. It provides also a reports of the sensory analysis
Sensory analysis
Sensory analysis is a scientific discipline that applies principles of experimental design and statistical analysis to the use of human senses for the purposes of evaluating consumer products. The discipline requires panels of human assessors, on whom the products are tested, and recording the...
made by a European jury of chef
Chef
A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation.-Etymology:The word "chef" is borrowed ...
s, sommelier
Sommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
s and beverage experts useful for quality departments.
Eligibility
All food and drink products that are available in stores are eligible to participate in the testing. Products are submitted by companies of all sizes, from small manufacturers to large international companies from more than 60 countries. In 2009 over 800 food and drink products were tested from around the world and are entered from companies such as: 5J,Sanchez Romero Carvajal (serrano ham), Alpro SoyaAlpro
Alpro is a company based in the U.K. that markets organic and non-organic, non-genetically modified, soy based food and drink products.It employs about 750 people and has manufacturing plants in Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands....
(soy products), Baltika Breweries (beer), Carlsberg (beer), Chimay
Chimay
Chimay a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006, Chimay had a total population of 9,774. The total area is 197.10 km² which gives a population density of 50 inhabitants per km²...
(cheese), Coca-Cola Germany
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
(Apollinaris
Apollinaris (water)
Apollinaris is a German naturally sparkling mineral water, very well known in German-speaking countries as "The Queen of Table Waters".The spring was discovered by chance in 1852 in Georg Kreuzberg’s vineyard, in Bad Neuenahr, Germany...
), Damm
S.A. Damm
S.A. Damm is a Spanish brewery founded in 1876. Its best known beer products include the following four:*Estrella Damm, formerly "Estrella Dorada", a pale beer, one of the most popular beers in the Barcelona area. It has been brewed since 1876. Its bottles and caps used to display a characteristic...
(beer), Del Monte Foods
Del Monte Foods
Del Monte Foods is an American food production and distribution company headquartered in San Francisco, California. Del Monte Foods is one of the country's largest producers, distributors and marketers of branded food and pet products for the U.S. retail market, generating approximately $3.6...
(pineapple), Franz Simmler (jam), Granini
Granini
Eckes-Granini Group GmbH is a German company known for its brand of fruit juices which are available in 70 countries worldwide. It is headquartered in Nieder-Olm.The brand granini,, founded by F. Schürmann in 1964, was acquired by Eckes AG in 1994....
(fruit juice), Heineken
Heineken
Heineken is a Dutch beer which has been brewed by Heineken International since 1873. It is available in a 4.6% alcohol variety in countries such as Ireland. It is the flagship product of the Heineken company and is made of purified water, malted barley, hops, and yeast. In 1886 H...
(beer), Higa Shuzo Co. Ltd. (sake), AB InBev (Leffe
Leffe
Leffe is a beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, the European operating arm of the global Anheuser–Busch InBev brewery giant. There are several beers in the range, and they are marketed as Abbey beers. They are brewed in large quantities and are widely distributed.-History:The abbey was founded in...
beer), Kouroushis (dairy products), Mevgal
Mevgal
MEVGAL is a Greek a brand of dairy products company, the largest in Northern Greece and the third largest producer of fresh dairy products in the country. Its name is an acronym for Macedonian Milk Industry...
(dairy products), Nestlé Waters
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
(S.Pellegrino), NewTree (chocolate), Prenzel (liqueurs), San Roque (Peruvian dessert), Source Saint Elie (mineral water), Sovena (extra virgin olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
), Ron Montero (rum
Rum
Rum is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from sugarcane by-products such as molasses, or directly from sugarcane juice, by a process of fermentation and distillation. The distillate, a clear liquid, is then usually aged in oak barrels...
), United Spirits (spirits) etc.
Jury
The foods and drinks are tested by selected European Chefs and SommelierSommelier
A sommelier , or wine steward, is a trained and knowledgeable wine professional, commonly working in fine restaurants, who specializes in all aspects of wine service as well as wine and food matching...
s, as they have an unmatched expertise in tasting. iTQi works with the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) and with chefs from the following European organisations:
- Académie Culinaire de France
- Academy of Culinary Arts (UK)
- Årets Kock of Sweden
- Associação de Cozinheiros Profissionais de Portugal
- Euro-Toques
- Federación de Asociaciones de Cocineros de España
- Federazione Italiana Cuochi
- Hellenic Chef’s Association
- Jeunes Restaurateurs d’Europe
- Maîtres Cuisiniers de France
- Meesterkoks van België
- Verband der Köche Deutschlands
Tastings
Producers have until the beginning of March to enter their products online via iTQi website. During March, iTQi jury members meet in BrusselsBrussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
. Foods are tested by a jury of chefs and drinks by sommeliers and beverage experts.
Products are blind tested solely on their own merit (not compared), with the focus on the intensity of gustatory pleasures and the sensory analysis
Sensory analysis
Sensory analysis is a scientific discipline that applies principles of experimental design and statistical analysis to the use of human senses for the purposes of evaluating consumer products. The discipline requires panels of human assessors, on whom the products are tested, and recording the...
methodology. Organoleptic
Organoleptic
Organoleptic is an adjective used to refer to the aspects of food or other substances as experienced by the senses, including taste, sight, smell, and touch.-USDA uses:...
criteria are scored (first impression, appearance, smell
Smell
Smell may refer to:* Olfaction, sense of smell, the ability of humans and other animals to perceive odors* Odor, the percept resultant from the sense of smell...
, texture, taste
Taste
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. It refers to the ability to detect the flavor of substances such as food, certain minerals, and poisons, etc....
and aftertaste
Aftertaste
Aftertaste is the taste intensity of a food or beverage that is perceived immediately after that food or beverage is removed from the mouth. The aftertastes of different foods and beverages can vary by intensity and over time, but the unifying feature of aftertaste is that it is perceived after a...
/retro-olfaction and commented on by each judge. Each product is classified in one of 270 categories and prepared as instructed by the manufacturer.
Each judge gives a score for each criterion as well as a comment justifying the grade. All the scores by the jury are compiled with taste and first impression having a higher weight. The final results are communicated confidentially to the participating manufacturers with a report accompanying the analysis, comments and further suggestions about their products.
Awards
All products with a minimum score of 70% are awarded in the following way:- One star with a score between 70% and 80%: Products are awarded for “Notable Taste“
- Two stars with a score between 80% and 90%: products are awarded as “Remarkable“
- Three stars with a score of 90% and above: products are awarded as “Exceptional“
Awards are often considered as the "Michelin Guide
Michelin Guide
The Michelin Guide is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. The term normally refers to the Michelin Red Guide, the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, which awards the Michelin stars...
" for consumer foods and drinks.