Blog #5

This week was designated towards finalizing our product and designing an appropriate package to deter biological, physical and/or chemical hazards. At the beginning of the week, we formulated a fresh batch of our product based off of our final formulation and results from the previous week’s sensory evaluation results. We then froze this freshly made batch in the -20° freezer. Four days later, we took the batch out of the freezer and reconstituted half of the batch in the oven and the other half in the fryer. In addition, we attempted to formulate a smaller boudin ball that that of previous batches, in order to serve more of a bite-sized product to our consumers. However, when the smaller boudin balls were placed in the fryer, they tended to pick up more oil. This negatively impacted the texture and mouthfeel of the product. Therefore, it was determined that the boudin balls were best at their original size.

After trying the product reconstituted both ways, we decided the product was best after being fried. However, we decided to include both baked and fried methods on the package’s reconstitution label to allow the consumer to choose their method of preference. By doing this we are able to target a wider range of consumers. The package was designed to include both an exterior and interior packaging. The exterior package consists of paperboard with the product image, nutrition label, and reconstitution instructions label. The paperboard serves as a physical barrier to avoid damage to the product due to impact during transport. Inside the paperboard is a heat-sealed bag, serving as the interior packaging. This serves as a barrier to both biological and chemical hazards, as it protects the frozen product from exposure to oxygen and moisture.

We are excited to be sharing our convenient, tasty, gluten-free boudin balls with the department this week and look forward to hearing what our consumers think of the product!