Profiling Method offers Food for Thought

A new approach using simultaneous analysis of odours and tastants in food substances, has been developed by scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology.
For characterisation of odour and taste profiles of raw materials to the finished product, very different methods can be used by researchers to determine the exact nature and quantity of these different substances. Aroma analyses in particular can be very time-consuming and also expensive.
"We have now developed a new, innovative methodical approach that will enable us to examine food simultaneously for both odorants and tastants in a time-saving high-throughput process,” explained Thomas Hofmann, Director of the Leibniz-Institute for Food Systems Biology and Professor of Food Chemistry and Molecular Sensory Science at the TUM.

Based on an ultra-high performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS) method typically used for taste analysis, the new approach also enabled volatile odorous substances to be analysed by means of an upstream enrichment step, reducing the time-scale of the monitoring process.
"We have tested our new methodological approach using apple juice as an example. The results are very promising," said Andreas Dunkel, Senior Scientist at the Leibniz-Institute of Food Systems Biology who, along with doctoral student Christoph Hofstetter from the TUM, has been substantially involved in the project.

Hoping to continue with development the scientists said the approach will provide better food monitoring along the entire value chain and if necessary, its optimisation. Another area of application is its potential as an investigative tool: "Using the identified flavour profiles, it would be possible to check the origin and quality label of the manufacturers and detect food fraud," added Andreas Dunkel.
Publication:
Christoph Konrad Hofstetter, Andreas Dunkel and Thomas Hofmann:
Unified Flavor Quantitation: Toward High-Throughput Analysis of Key Food Odorants and Tastants by Means of Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry
J. Agric. Food Chem., July 9, 2019 - DOI: 10,1021/acs.jafc.9b03466
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b03466