ABSTRACT
This chapter illustrates a few examples of the types of food taints. gas chromatography (GC)/mass spectroscopy (MS) static headspace analysis with a gas-tight syringe is rapid and useful for the qualitative identification of chemicals responsible for off-flavors and malodors. Numerous isolation and concentration techniques prior to GC analysis have been used to analyze flavor-contributing chemicals in orange juice, including purge and trap, vacuum distillation, simultaneous distillation-solvent extraction and solvent extraction. Light-induced off-flavors, undoubtedly the most common flavor defect in milk, have two distinct components. Fish and milk are highly susceptible to microbial-induced off-flavors. The “fishy” off-flavor associated with stale fish is the result of trimethylamine production via a bacterial enzymatic reduction reaction with trimethylamine oxide, a naturally occurring constituent of fish muscle. The olfactory detector allows chemists to incorporate the sense of smell into analytical investigations of off-flavors and malodors in foods.
