Living laboratory equipment

Erich Leitner, Head of the Institute of Analytical Chemistry and Food Chemistry, doubles as a measuring instrument: his senses are trained to evaluate food products objectively by their smell. News+Stories : Your job sounds like a lot of fun - evaluating food products must be rather enjoyable, isn't it?. Erich Leitner: My staff and I are often told: "All you seem to do is eat and drink all day long." But of course the truth is rather different. Sometimes it is a rather tough task because tasting is anything but pleasurable consumption. Take a quality test, for example. On a single day I may have to taste and objectively assess up to 250 fruit juice samples. Doing this takes a healthy dose of masochism.