Sensory evaluation food flavors

A first approach to analyze such volatiles is the application of the AEDA on extracts prepared by dynamic headspace extraction. An apparatus used for the extraction especially of solid foods is shown in Figure 5 [55]. The powdered material is placed into a rotating cylinder and the volatiles are continuously flushed onto a polymer material (Tenax( )) by using a stream of helium (1 L/min). After 3 hr the volatiles are desorbed from the polymer by elution with a small amount of diethyl ether and evaluated by AEDA after concentration. Since different yields may change the composition of the volatiles during headspace extraction [7], it is essential to sensorially evaluate the flavor of the extracts in comparison with the food flavor itself. The following examples show applications of this method on fresh and stored wheat bread crust [55] and on fresh rye bread crust [P. Schieberle and W. Grosch, unpublished results]. 

The type of food and its processing affect flavoring efficiency therefore, flavor materials must be taste-tested in the food itself. Because there has been a lack of standardization of testing techniques, a committee on sensory evaluation of the Institute of Food Technologists has offered a guide (112) which is designed to help in developing standard procedures. 

Roberts, D.D., Pollien, P., Antille, N., Lindinger, C., and Yeretzian, C. Comparison of nosepace, headspace, and sensory intensity ratings for the evaluation of flavor absorption by fat, / Agric. Food Chem., 51(12) 3636-3642, 2003. 

The analysis of aroma compounds starts with the isolation of the volatile fraction from the food. Techniques used in the preparation of flavor extracts from foods have recently been reviewed [7-9], The most important task in the choice of the isolation procedure is to test whether the flavor of the extract is identical or at least similar to the flavor of the food itself. This has to be checked by a sensory evaluation of the food extract (e.g., after dilution with an appropriate medium like water or oil) before a time consuming chemical analysis is performed. 

During AEDA, interactions between the odorants are not taken into consideration, since every odorant is evaluated individually. Therefore, it may be possible that odorants are recognized which are possibly masked in the food flavor by more potent odorants. Furthermore, the odor activity values only partially reflect the situation in the food, since OAVs are mostly calculated on the basis of odor thresholds of single odorants in pure solvents. However, in the food system, the threshold values may be influenced by nonvolatile components such as lipids, sugars or proteins. The following examples will indicate that systematic sensory model studies are important further steps in evaluating the contribution of single odorants to the overall food aroma. 

In summary, headspace concentration method is the usual way of analyzing the odor quality of packaging materials and has been shown to give reliable data which can be correlated with sensory evaluation data. Oven-heated microwavable packaging materials may pose a special flavor problem in the food consumed. 

Oelingrath, I.M. and Slinde, E., Sensory evaluation of rancidity and off-flavor in frozen stored meat loaves fortified with blood, J. Food Sci., 53, 967, 1988. 

Sensory evaluation provides information most closely associated with the quality of food lipids. Flavor or odor defects may be detected by panelists before they are recognised by chemical or instrumental methods. For example, the fishy and grassy taste produced in linolenic acid-containing oils such as soybean oil occurs at very low levels of oxidation only detected by sensory analyses. The limitations of this method are poor reproducibility and high cost of panelists and the necessary facilities. The recommended approach is to use more reproducible chemical or instrumental methods to complement or support the sensory analyses (Frankel 1998). 

The most popular method involves 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) two molecules of 2-thiobarbituric acid are condensed with malonaldehyde. The emergent chromogen — the two tautomeric structures of the red TBA-malonaldehyde adduct — is determined at 532 nm, and also often at 450 nm, to determine aUcenals and aUcanals, respectively. The qualitative Kreis test was based on a similar principle it involved detection of the epihydrine aldehyde — a tautomeric malondialdehyde — in a color reaction with resorcine or phloroglucinol. The popularity of the TBA test stems from a correlation between the results and sensory evaluations. Paradoxically, this is related to the most important drawback of the TBA technique — its lack of specificity. In addition to the reaction with malonaldehyde, TBA forms compounds of identical color with other aldehydes and ketones, products of aldehyde interaction with nitrogen compounds, and also with saccharides, ascorbic acid, creatine, creatinine, trimethylamine oxide, trimethylamine, proteins, and amino acids. For this reason, the TBA test may even be treated as a proteolysis indicator (Kolakowska and Deutry, 1983). Recently, TBA-reactive substances (TEARS) were introduced, primarily to stress that the reaction involves hydroperoxides in addition to aldehydes. Due to the nonspecificity of the TEARS test, its results reflect the rancidity of food better than other conventional methods, especially off-flavor, which is caused by volatiles from lipids as well as being affected by products of lipids interaction with nitrogenous compounds. 

The bioflavor compounds of blue cheese, obtained from fermentation of Aspergillus spp., were encapsulated in soy lecithin liposomes and spray-dried to obtain the powder form by Santana et al. (2005). A sensory evaluation was performed, by adding the liposome-bioflavor powder in a base of light cream cheese, which was spread on toasts. Flavor intensity, acceptance by the consumers, and purchasing intention were the tests done in the sensory evaluation. The results showed that the encapsulation maintained the characteristic flavor of blue cheese and the product was classified by the consumers as acceptable. The dried liposome-stabilized flavor was useful to add in foods and to be kept in storage. 

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