Emily Neu, Marketing Manager for Conagra Foodservice along with Kristine Kinninger, Southeast Regional Sales Manager with ConAgra Food Service flew in to South Carolina from Ohio and Florida, respectively, to meet Ray Bullock, Sales Representative for South Carolina to conduct blind taste testing of pepperoni pizza at Dillon Middle School.
Approximately 125 Eighth grade students from the classes of Sandra Bridgers, Sandra Simmons, Audrey Hunt, and Teresa Stephens participated.
Dillon District Four is part of the South Carolina Purchasing Alliance where students do comparison testing of products that meet the requirements and in essence, help pick their own menu.
Mrs. Neu instructed the students that “she wanted the honest opinion of the students”. She stated the comparison testing helps with research and development and when they answered the questions that they were answering for eight graders across the country.
Students completed a questionnaire which had a ranking system of one to nine from like to dislike. There were two open-ended questions on like and dislike of the samples.
The pizza was judged on overall look, smell, taste, appearance, flavor and attributes such as sauce, cheese, pepperoni, and the crust on both edges and underneath were judged. The pizza was brought out in an assembly line, and students tasted and rated the pizza samples.
Conagra Foodservice is one of North America’s leading food makers offering product lines of “Ultragrain” “The Max” “Chef Boyardee” and “Snack Pack” products to schools across the country.
The South Carolina Purchasing Alliance has grown tremendously over the last few years and the success of this organization comes from the help of all South Carolina students across the entire state. Partnering with companies such as ConAgra who are interested in what the kids want and like to eat has boosted that growth.
“On behalf of Dillon District Four Food Services, we appreciate the cooperation of the school administration and students for always supporting our efforts to improve our menus and offering the best meals possible while still maintaining all federal guidelines,” said Dawn Johnson, Director of District Four Food Service.
