20.500.12556/RUL-181378 Systematic monitoring reveals continuous improvement in the sensory quality of private-label dairy products in Slovenia Sensory quality plays a key role in consumer acceptance and can contribute to the growing market share of private-label dairy products. In this study, the sensory quality of private-label dairy products in Slovenia was investigated over a 4-year period (2020–2023). A total of 2,188 samples from 5 major Slovenian retailers were analyzed using a modified sensory evaluation method (ISO 22935). Each retailer conducted about 4 samplings per year. The products were categorized into 11 groups and evaluated by trained panelists according to appearance, color, odor, taste, and product-specific characteristics. The results showed a continuous improvement in overall sensory quality, particularly taste, across most retailers and product categories. We observed an overall reduction in deviation from target sensory profiles. Sensory and taste scores improved significantly for ice creams, flavored fermented milk, creams, and cheeses, with no significant change for pasteurized and UHT milk. Trends in cheese taste defects showed a decrease in major technological defects, such as bitter and unclean flavors, and indicated emerging issues such as flat taste. We observed a high incidence of flat taste in butters (38.5%–76.0%) and too sweet ice creams (12.5%–48.8%). The proportion of inharmoniously sour fermented milk products increased linearly from 18.3% in 2020 to 60.7% in 2023. These results show that private-label products can achieve high sensory standards through systematic monitoring of sensory quality and targeted improvements. sensory quality quality control private label dairy products mlečni izdelki lastne blagovne znamke senzorična kakovost Slovenija true false true Angleški jezik Slovenski jezik Članek v reviji 2026-04-03 10:56:02 2026-04-03 10:56:11 2026-04-04 04:47:28 0000-00-00 00:00:00 2026 0 0 Str. 3609-3619 issue 4 Vol. 109 Apr. 2026 0000-00-00 Zaloznikova Objavljeno apc 0000-00-00 0000-00-00 2026-04-01 637.1 1525-3198 10.3168/jds.2025-27692 274156547 RAZ_Kolenc_Borut_2026.pdf RAZ_Kolenc_Borut_2026.pdf 1 069BEE3BE8E47DEA45930DCE82047C32 6e87237ddc1f71c925a644c8b65737d16c5eb31cc87a987f63ce72722699165c d94dfaf8-2f3a-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=231787 https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2025-27692 1 ce85323a-2f3a-11f1-b0ab-0050569b8976 https://repozitorij.uni-lj.si/Dokument.php?lang=slv&id=231786 Biotehniška fakulteta 0 0 0