Elspeth Copeland examined the cherries, licked them, chewed them, then spit them into a paper cup, while we watched. After a few minutes, she delivered her verdict.

“I think they’ve been abused,” she said.

In food manufacturing, there are some mysteries that can only be solved by tasting. And there are some people who can taste better than almost anyone. Copeland is one of those people, a sort of independent professional taster. She’s in high demand among major food companies in Canada and the U.S., because she can identify what’s going wrong in their factory, or their supply chain, or their formula, just by trying the product.

After about 16 years at Canadian grocery giant Loblaw Companies, where she developed products for the chain’s President’s Choice brand, Copeland went out on her

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