Facilities include a reception area for panelists, a product preparation area (with convection and conventional ovens, grill, deep fat fryer, and a wide variety of food preparation equipment), booths with pass-through compartments, a room for descriptive training and focus groups, and walk-in coolers/freezers for storing samples.
The Sensory Lab has seven side-by-side computerized booths which use a lighted signal system to inform kitchen staff of the progress of each panelist and to request staff help if needed. Each booth has a vertical pass-through "bread box" type compartment to the preparation room. This type of compartment prevents the passage of odors or visual cues from the preparation room which minimizes panelist bias. Positive pressure is maintained in the booth area as well to prevent odors from entering from the preparation room. Red lights in the booth area are available if masking of visual differences between samples is desired. This technique reduces chances of biased preference of samples based solely on appearance.
A descriptive panel room is also available, and may be used for focus groups or descriptive consumer panels. A one-way glass is available and may be used for unobtrusive, discreet monitoring of descriptive panels when desired.