The Superior Taste Award is a prize bestowed annually recognising food and beverages with excellent taste and quality. The awards have been granted since 2005 by the International Taste & Quality Institute (iTQi)[1], seated in Brussels, Belgium.
The award gives marketing tools and arguments to differentiate food and drink products towards distributors and consumers. It provides also a reports of the sensory analysis made by a European jury of chefs, sommeliers and beverage experts useful for quality departments.
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All food and drink products that are available in stores are eligible to participate in the testing. Products are submitted by companies of all sizes, from small manufacturers to large international companies from more than 60 countries. In 2009 over 800 food and drink products were tested from around the world and are entered from companies such as: 5J,Sanchez Romero Carvajal (serrano ham), Alpro Soya (soy products), Baltika Breweries (beer), Carlsberg (beer), Chimay (cheese), Coca-Cola Germany (Apollinaris), Damm (beer), Del Monte Foods (pineapple), Franz Simmler (jam), Granini (fruit juice), Heineken (beer), Higa Shuzo Co. Ltd. (sake), AB InBev (Leffe beer), Kouroushis (dairy products), Mevgal (dairy products), Nestlé Waters (S.Pellegrino), NewTree (chocolate), Prenzel (liqueurs), San Roque (Peruvian dessert), Source Saint Elie (mineral water), Sovena (extra virgin olive oil), Ron Montero (rum), United Spirits (spirits) etc.
The foods and drinks are tested by selected European Chefs and Sommeliers, as they have an unmatched expertise in tasting. iTQi works with the Association de la Sommellerie Internationale (ASI) and with chefs from the following European organisations:[2]
Producers have until the beginning of March to enter their products online via iTQi website. During March, iTQi jury members meet in Brussels. Foods are tested by a jury of chefs and drinks by sommeliers and beverage experts.
Products are blind tested solely on their own merit (not compared), with the focus on the intensity of gustatory pleasures and the sensory analysis methodology. Organoleptic criteria are scored (first impression, appearance, smell, texture, taste and aftertaste/retro-olfaction and commented on by each judge. Each product is classified in one of 270 categories and prepared as instructed by the manufacturer.
Each judge gives a score for each criterion as well as a comment justifying the grade. All the scores by the jury are compiled with taste and first impression having a higher weight. The final results are communicated confidentially to the participating manufacturers with a report accompanying the analysis, comments and further suggestions about their products.
All products with a minimum score of 70% are awarded in the following way:
Awards are often considered as the "Michelin Guide" for consumer foods and drinks.
After the announcement of the winners in early spring, the presentation of the awards takes place in Brussels, during the annual Awards Ceremony in May. This event is attended by the winning producers, diplomats, officials and the members of the international food press.