Margaret Anne Cliff

PhD - University of Missouri (Columbia, MO)

MS - University of California (Davis, CA)

BSc - University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC) (Honours Food Science)

Dr. Cliff has been a Research Scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Summerland BC, for more than 25 years (1993-2018). At AAFC, she directed a research program in Sensory Evaluation and Consumer Research, and worked closely with the food and wine industries. She specialized in profiling the sensory characteristics of new fruit cultivars, and training assessors in wine defect recognition. Dr. Cliff has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

UBC – Master of Food Science (MFS) Program (2008-present)

• FOOD 529: Laboratory Methods in Sensory Evaluation of Food
• FOOD 531: Practicum Project (Academic Supervisor)

Acadia University – Nutrition and Dietetics Program

• NUTR 4220: Sensory Evaluation of Food

Brock University – Oenology and Viticulture Program

• OEVI 4P20: Sensory Evaluation of Wine

Bejaei, M., Arthur, J., Cliff, M.A. 2022. Consumer perceptions of apple quality. In: Improving the Quality of Apples. F. Costa (Editor), Burleigh Dodds Science Pub. Ltd. (Hardcover book avail. Oct 2023) https://shop.bdspublishing.com/store/bds/detail/workgroup?id=3-190-133370

Bejaei, M., Cliff, M.A., Madilao, L.L. and vanVuuren, H.J.J. 2019. Modelling changes in volatile compounds in British Columbian varietal wines that were bottle aged for up to 120 months. Beverages, 5(3):7. https://www.mdpi.com/2306-5710/5/3/57.

Cliff, M.A. and Bejaei, M. 2018. Inter-relationship of firmness determinations and development of cross-validated regression models for prediction of sensory textural attributes. Food Research International. 106:752-762. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2018.01.041.

Cliff, M.A. and Toivonen, P.M.A. 2017. Sensory and quality characteristics of Ambrosia apples in relation to harvest maturity for fruit stored up to eight months. PostHarvest Biol. Technol. 132:145-153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2017.05.015.

Cliff, M.A., Stanich, K. and Toivonen, P.M.A. 2017. Evaluation of the sensory, physicochemical and visual characteristics for a sweet cherry cultivar treated in a commercial orchard with a cherry cuticle supplement when a rainfall event does not occur. HortTechnol. 27:416-423. doi:10.21273/HORTTECH03621-16.

In June 2022, Dr. M. Cliff received the W.J. Eva Award from the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST), for her research and contributions to the food industry.