ABSTRACT
The presence of a compound causing a taint or off-‹avor may cause a food to be un t for human consumption or may result in consumer non acceptance. Although the food with the taint or off-‹avor is often not a safety risk to the consumer, the perception of low safety or quality, brand damage, and adverse publicity can be extremely costly to the food industry. The compounds responsible for taints are frequently only present at trace and ultra-trace (sub ppb, µg kg-1) levels, and due to the complexity of food as a matrix, this presents a signi cant challenge to the analytical chemist. This chapter discusses the origins of food taints and outlines the approaches taken to both identify the origin of a taint and quantitative methods of analysis. This chapter aims to provide only a summary, but more detailed discussions on the mechanisms
16.1 Introduction .................................................................................................. 335 16.2 Potential Sources of Food Taints and Off-Flavors ....................................... 336
16.2.1 Raw Materials ................................................................................... 336 16.2.2 Microorganisms ................................................................................ 336 16.2.3 Chemical Changes/Lipid Oxidation ................................................. 343 16.2.4 Processing/Cleaning Products .......................................................... 343 16.2.5 Packaging ..........................................................................................344
