🍎 Confectionery products — organoleptic tests: preparation of samples, assessment of quality attributes (among others external appearance of the product in its packaging, shape, colour, surface, cross-section, consistency, filling, odour, taste) descriptively or by scoring on a 1–5 scale with weighting coefficients; PN-A-88032 (withdrawn standard)

Food chemistry PN-A-88032

Overview

WHAT THE STANDARD COVERS. The "Scope" field of the PKN card for PN-A-88032:1998 (Polish version), in full: "The method of preparing samples for organoleptic tests is discussed. The conditions and methods of carrying out the organoleptic assessment of confectionery products are presented. Assessment tables and the method of scoring the individual quality attributes of confectionery products are given". Title from the card: "Wyroby cukiernicze -- Badania organoleptyczne" (Confectionery products -- Organoleptic tests); the standard has 30 pages. We have not read the text of the standard — we do not know the list of attributes for individual groups of products, the descriptions of the scale levels, the values of the weighting coefficients (apart from the one changed by the corrigendum) or how the final score is calculated.

CORRIGENDUM Ap1:2001 (corrigendum file from the PKN catalogue, read in full on 09.11.2026). Heading: "Corrigendum to the Polish Standard PN-A-88032/Ap1", August 2001, ref. no. PN-A-88032:1998/Ap1:2001, approved by the President of the Polish Committee for Standardization on 21 August 2001. Content, in full: "In Table 10, in the row "Odour" the weighting coefficient is changed from "0.1" to "0.15"." The corrigendum shows only that the standard has at least ten tables and that Table 10 contains weighting coefficients and a row "Odour"; we do not know the other rows and values, or which products Table 10 concerns. The laboratories write the standard with the corrigendum in two ways — "PN-A-88032:1998 | PN-A-88032:1998/Ap1:2001" (AB 433, AB 521) and "PN-A-88032:1998+Ap1:2001" (AB 518, AB 532) — and two without the corrigendum (AB 444, AB 1334).

STATUS (PKN card as of 09.11.2026). The card for PN-A-88032:1998 (Polish version) has the label "Withdrawn" and the line "Withdrawal date: 07-11-2024"; there is no "Replaced by" field — the card indicates no successor. Edition: published 02-01-1998, 30 pages, price group P, Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector, technical body — Sector Council of the Food, Agriculture and Forestry Sector, ICS 67.180.10; the card has no "Implements" or "Replaces" fields. Corrigendum on the card: "PN-A-88032:1998/Ap1:2001P - WITHDRAWN". A search for "PN-A-88032" in the PKN catalogue (09.11.2026) returns only this card; the result of the search "wyroby cukiernicze organoleptyczne" (confectionery organoleptic; 64 cards) contains no PN-A standard — we did not find a successor this way either. The list of tests within the flexible scope of laboratory AB 379 (issue 41 of 30.04.2025) notes for this standard "withdrawn standard, not replaced". The withdrawal does not change the course of the assessment or the scale — a laboratory that applies the standard works according to a withdrawn document for which there is no newer edition.

HOW MANY LABORATORIES AND IN WHAT FORM (copy of the accreditation scope database, read 09.11.2026; current scope documents on the PCA website, 09.11.2026; "Laboratories" tab on labcoda.pl, 09.11.2026). The number 88032 appears in the copy in 6 items at 6 Polish laboratories — one each: AB 1334, AB 433, AB 444, AB 518, AB 521, AB 532; laboratories of other countries do not have it. Counted over the reference document, normative basis and search text fields, by the number 88032 alone — every notation is included. Notations: "PN-A-88032:1998 | PN-A-88032:1998/Ap1:2001" (AB 433, AB 521), "PN-A-88032:1998+Ap1:2001" (AB 518, AB 532), "PN-A-88032:1998 z wyłączeniem punktu 4.10, 4.11, 5" (excluding points 4.10, 4.11, 5) (AB 1334) and "PN-A-88032:1998 p.4.1-4.8" (AB 444). Each item from the copy appears in the current PCA scope document with the same wording: AB 1334 — issue 31 of 04.05.2026, AB 433 — 26 of 11.06.2026, AB 444 — 27 of 23.06.2026, AB 518 — 26 of 10.06.2026, AB 521 — 27 of 07.08.2026, AB 532 — 24 of 03.07.2026; none of these documents marks the standard as withdrawn. The "Laboratories" tab ("PN-A-88032", matching by the beginning of the notation) shows the same 6 laboratories and 6 items (query of the tab on labcoda.pl, 09.11.2026). The set does not include lists of tests within the flexible scope that laboratories publish separately — e.g. AB 379 with points 4.2–4.8.

WHAT THE LABORATORIES TEST (copy of the database, complete items — 6). Scoring: AB 433 — plain and filled chocolate, overall quality (shape, colour, surface, consistency, cross-section, filling, taste, odour, external appearance of the product and packaging), range (1–5) points, scoring method; AB 518 — confectionery products, organoleptic attributes: external appearance, shape, surface, colour, consistency, cross-section, filling, odour, taste, scoring method (no range in the item); AB 532 — confectionery products, colour, consistency, odour, taste, appearance, shape, surface, cross-section, range (1–5) points, scoring method; AB 521 — confectionery products, external appearance of the product in its immediate or unit packaging, shape, colour, surface, cross-section, consistency, odour, taste, degree of filling of the product, range (1–5) points, grading method. Simple descriptive test: AB 1334 — confectionery products, external appearance of the product in its packaging, shape, surface, cross-section, degree of filling, colour, odour, taste, consistency (standard excluding points 4.10, 4.11 and 5); AB 444 — confectionery products, general appearance, consistency, odour, taste (points 4.1–4.8). Neighbourhood in the copy: other items of organoleptic assessment of confectionery products and chocolate are based on the laboratories' own procedures or on other standards — 10 items at 8 Polish laboratories (counted over the test object containing the word "cukiernicz" (confectionery) or "czekolad" (chocolate) and the tested characteristic containing words for appearance, taste, odour or sensory assessment, excluding items with PN-A-88032).

HOW TO READ THE POINTS OF THE STANDARD FROM THE SCOPES (places that can be indicated). Laboratories with a simple descriptive test cite part of the standard: AB 444 — points 4.1–4.8, AB 1334 — the whole excluding points 4.10, 4.11 and 5, and AB 379 on its list of tests within the flexible scope — points 4.2–4.8 (general appearance, shape of the product, colour, upper and lower surface, cross-section, consistency, odour, taste; simple descriptive test). Laboratories with scoring (AB 433, AB 518, AB 521, AB 532) cite the standard without limiting the points. We have not read the content of points 4.9–4.11 and chapter 5; the arrangement of the items shows only that the descriptive assessment at these laboratories does without them.

EXAMPLE OF USE IN A SCIENTIFIC PAPER (this is not the text of the standard). B. Borkowska and J. Opolska (Scientific Journal of Gdynia Maritime University No. 99, 2017) assessed fruit and cereal bars by a 5-point method with their own master assessment card prepared on the basis of PN-A-88032:1998, another Polish Standard and literature: attributes — general appearance and surface, colour, cross-section, consistency, taste, odour — each with a verbal description of the levels from 5 to 1 point; the assessment was made by a 10-member panel of verified sensory sensitivity. This is the authors' card, not a table of the standard — we do not know which descriptions come from PN-A-88032.

WHERE AN APPARENTLY CORRECT RESULT IS EASY TO GET. Calculation: in scoring, the result depends on the weighting coefficients — the text of the standard without corrigendum Ap1 has for odour in Table 10 a coefficient of 0.1 instead of 0.15, so the same scores of the attributes give a different weighted score; all four laboratories with scoring cite the corrigendum, and the two with a simple descriptive test do not (there is no scoring in their items). Assessment: a descriptive result and a scored result (1–5 points) are different kinds of result — a score cannot be derived from an item that states a simple descriptive test (AB 444, AB 1334). Attributes: the items differ in their set of characteristics — "external appearance of the product in its packaging" (AB 1334, AB 521), "external appearance of the product and packaging" (AB 433) and "general appearance" (AB 444) are not the same characteristic; filling appears only in four items. The preparation of samples is described by the standard (PKN card) — we have not read that part.

WHAT WE DO NOT GIVE. We have not read the text of PN-A-88032:1998 (in the PKN catalogue only for sale; we did not find it in open access). We do not give the method of preparing samples, the conditions of assessment (room, number and qualifications of assessors), the list of attributes for groups of products, the descriptions of the scale levels, the values of the weighting coefficients other than odour in Table 10 after the corrigendum, the formula of the final score or the content of points 4.9–4.11 and chapter 5. We have not established why PKN withdrew the standard without a successor, or whether any legal act cites the standard.

Method principle

According to the PKN card, the standard describes the preparation of samples of confectionery products, the conditions and methods of organoleptic assessment, and assessment tables with scoring of quality attributes; corrigendum Ap1:2001 shows that scoring uses weighting coefficients (Table 10, odour — 0.15). In accreditation scopes the attributes — among others external appearance of the product in its packaging, shape, colour, surface, cross-section, consistency, filling, odour and taste — are assessed by scoring on a 1–5 scale or by a simple descriptive test (then only points 4.1–4.8 or without points 4.10, 4.11 and 5). We do not give details of the tables — we have not read the text of the standard.

Applications

• Confectionery products, including plain and filled chocolate — organoleptic assessment of quality attributes (items of accreditation scopes)
• Scoring on a 1–5 point scale with weighting coefficients or a simple descriptive test on part of the points of the standard
• In accreditation scopes: 6 Polish laboratories — sanitary and epidemiological stations, the commercial quality inspection and commercial laboratories (names from the "Laboratories" tab)
• Basis of own assessment cards in scientific papers (example: fruit and cereal bars, 5-point assessment)

Key parameters

Standard

Standard number

PN-A-88032:1998 (Polish version; with corrigendum Ap1:2001; withdrawn 07-11-2024 with no successor indicated)

Title (PL)

Wyroby cukiernicze — Badania organoleptyczne

Title (EN)

Confectionery products — Organoleptic tests

Step-by-step procedure

1. Preparation of samples

   According to the standard (PKN card: "method of preparing samples for organoleptic tests") — details NOT GIVEN.

2. Choice of the method of assessment

   Scoring on a 1–5 point scale or a simple descriptive test — according to the scope item; for the descriptive test the laboratories cite points 4.1–4.8 or the standard without points 4.10, 4.11 and 5.

3. Assessment of attributes

   External appearance (of the product in its packaging), shape, colour, surface, cross-section, consistency, filling, odour, taste — set according to the type of product and the scope item.

4. Result

   Descriptive or scored assessment; for scoring, weighting coefficients from the tables of the standard with corrigendum Ap1:2001 (odour 0.15). PN-A-88032:1998 — withdrawn 07-11-2024 with no successor indicated (PKN card as of 09.11.2026).

Required equipment and apparatus

Health and safety (OHS)

• Taste assessment — samples fit for consumption, with information on allergens (nuts, milk, gluten and other ingredients of the product)
• Hygiene of the station and of the assessment utensils; rinsing the mouth between samples
• TECHNICAL NOTE: withdrawn standard without a successor; without corrigendum Ap1 the coefficient for odour in Table 10 is 0.1 instead of 0.15

Frequently asked questions