Article: Volunteers grade groceries at taste-test center

Before they reach store shelves, food and drinks proposed to be made for Kroger Co.'s brands must pass muster with taste-testers who are paid in nibbles and sips and in-store coupons.

Seven at a time, volunteers fill a row of cubicles down the hall from the lobby at Kroger's downtown Cincinnati headquarters, helping Kroger assess its store-brand lineup, which has nearly doubled in five years. They sit facing slots from which trays emerge with individual samples.

Some furrowed their brows one recent morning, others closed their eyes to savor tidbits of peach ice cream. Then they tapped out answers to multiple-choice questions from a computer about taste and texture and how ...

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