FOOD and drink lovers of all ages are being invited to take part in food tasting panels at Queen Margaret University’s Musselburgh campus.

Aimed at people aged 18 and upwards, the short tasting sessions will be held during weekdays in the evenings and at weekends – with participants receiving a £10 gift voucher at the end of each.

The Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation’s purpose-built sensory analysis suite, based at QMU, assesses both new items before they are launched, as well as existing products already on the market.

Several consumer tasting panels are run every week on a wide variety of food and drink products including bakery, meats, ready meals, snacks and chocolate.

Catriona Liddle, of the Scottish Centre for Food Development and Innovation, said: “Some of the taste panels are very quick and simple and are completed in around 15-20 minutes, while some sessions are more involved and can last around 45 minutes.Consumer panel members will have the chance to taste a wide range of products from basic food brands to premium products. People really enjoy attending the sessions and welcome the opportunity to share their opinions on the range of foods they taste.”

No previous experience is necessary to take part in the sessions but all participants should be over 18 and should not have any dietary restrictions.

Tasters can choose to apply for as many sessions as they wish but there is no obligation to attend every session.

Each week the list of consumer panelists will receive an email with notification of upcoming sessions to choose from.

For more information or to sign up as a consumer panel taster, email Lucy MacLellan of QMU Food & Drink Consumer Tasting Panel at consumerpanels@qmu.ac.uk