ABSTRACT
Purge and trap analysis is a widely used technique for qualitative and quantitative flavor analysis. Often it is not known how much flavor or what flavor compounds are contained in the sample. Consequently, it is not known whether all the flavor components that the sample contains were completely recovered. Typically, stepwise changes in conditions are made and the total flavor recovery monitored as well as specific compounds. An assessment is then made as to the extent of flavor recovery that was achieved. There is still the unknown of whether the more aggressive conditions are recovering more of the inherit compounds or whether artifacts are being created by the new conditions. The use of a humidified purge gas can increase the amount of flavor released versus a dry purge gas and becomes another variable in purge and trap analysis. Using the technique of inverse gas chromatography (IGC) provides a means to monitor the amount of flavor released, and as a real-time technique, is used to optimize purge and trap conditions for subsequent flavor analysis [1].
