Tuesday, March 18, 2025 – Indonesian International Institute for Life Sciences (i3L) hosted a PowerTalk event titled “Sensory Analysis as a Tool in New Product Development (NPD) in the Olive Industry.” The session took place in a hybrid format, with the offline event held at the i3L campus and an online session via Zoom. The event featured Dimitris IA Kontousias, B.Sc., MBA, the Production Manager at AMALTHIA S.A. and a Ph.D. candidate at the University of the Aegean, Greece. With extensive experience in the olive industry, product development, and sensory evaluation, he provided valuable insights into the field. The powertalk was moderated by Dr.oec.troph. Hanny Angrainy, B.Sc., M.A., M.Sc., the Head of Food Technology Department at i3L.

The event attracted around 113 participants, including students and faculty members, both online and offline. During the session, the speaker highlighted the crucial role of sensory analysis in the development of new food products, particularly in the olive industry, where factors such as taste, texture, and aroma play a significant role in consumer acceptance. Attendees actively engaged in discussions, asked insightful questions, and gained valuable knowledge about the role of sensory analysis in the olive industry.
Following the powertalk, a sensory workshop was conducted, allowing participants to experience how olives are assessed for quality. Attendees had the opportunity to taste two different olive varieties and analyze their sensory attributes. The olives samples were brought from Greece to Indonesia.