Abstract:
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Beverages and processed foods occupy vast territory in the field of mixture experimentation which has been so well pioneered and exposited by John Cornell. Early designs and models developed by Henry Scheffé, were inspired by coffee blending at General Foods in the late 50s. Subsequently, many of John's applications were in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida, and those applications inspired his further development of mixture design theory. John was one of the inspirational leaders in the field. To be sure, the introduction of mixture designs and models to foods R&D was not an overnight hit. As in many DEX applications, food scientists and engineers were reluctant to forsake older, sometimes homegrown, methods. In mixture applications, these methods include one-factor-at-a-time experimentation, slack variable studies and studies based on ratios of trial ingredients to more voluminous, key components. Arguments over which methods are best persist, but mixture design technology is slowly winning the day because of its efficiency. The more they win, the more we are the beneficiaries through increasingly nutritious foods at greater value.
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