Sainsbury's puts its crisps to the crunch test after inventing machine that can analyse how much force is needed to break the product 

  • Supermarket giant has invented a machine to see how much force is needed to break each product
  • Can be used on its crisps, crackers, peanuts and pretzels in home food brand
  • Britons voted crunchless crisps as the worst Yuletide experience in a survey
  • Followed by limp biscuits, soft crackers and unripe avocados 

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: 20:08 EST, 11 December 2016 | Updated: 20:47 EST, 11 December 2016

The texture analyser, nicknamed the crunch-o-meter has been designed to test Sainsbury's crisps and crackers

A supermarket has invented a machine that it claims can test whether its crisps are crunchy enough.

Sainsbury's has designed the Texture Analyser machine, nicknamed the 'Crunch-o-meter', to test their own home food products.

Everything from crisps to crackers, peanuts to pretzels undergo rigorous testing in the Sainsbury's Product Quality Laboratory in London's Holborn.

And the machine measures the force needed to break each product.

It's welcome news to Britons preparing for Christmas, who voted crunchless crisps as the worst Yuletide food experience in a new study, followed by limp biscuits, soft crackers and unripe avocados.

The job of Sainsbury's Product Quality Laboratory is to add scientific measurements into the quality control process, which is traditionally reliant on subjective measures like human taste tests.

Once the tasters have agreed on a level of crunch that people enjoy, the lab creates a 'crunch range' for that product, against which all future batches are measured.

Before each use, the 'Crunch-o-meter' is calibrated to make sure it gives accurate readings. This is done with a specially-designed weight.

The machine will be able to tell if crisps have enough crunch and will be measured against what consumer say is crunchy enough

The machine can use a variety of probes. Each one is specially designed for different products, textures, shapes and levels of crunch.

For example, a 0.25inch diameter spherical probe is used on a special support rig to test the crispness of crisps.

Adjustments need to be made for variables such as thickness and also for inclusions like chocolate chips or fruit to ensure an accurate reading is given.

During testing, multiple samples throughout each pack are randomly selected and tested to ensure the quality is consistent.

According to a survey, a limp biscuit and a crunchless crisp are the worst things that can happen at Christmas

Juliette Jahaj, Head of Analytical Testing at Sainsbury's, said: 'The results from the study further validate the importance of the work we do in our Product Quality Laboratory.

'We have been investing in the quality of our Christmas products throughout the year.

'So whether it's turkey with all the trimmings or a bowl of crisps with the perfect crunch, our customers can rely on us for great quality products.' 

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