Sensory description of marine oils through development of a sensory wheel and vocabulary

Recent Advances and Future Perspectives in the E-Nose Technologies Addressed to the Wine Industry

Electronic nose devices stand out as pioneering innovations in contemporary technological research, addressing the arduous challenge of replicating the complex sense of smell found in humans. Currently, sensor instruments find application in a variety of fields, including environmental, (bio)medical, food, pharmaceutical, and materials production. Particularly the latter, has seen a significant increase in the adoption of technological tools to assess food quality, gradually supplanting human panelists and thus reshaping the entire quality control paradigm in the sector. This process is happening even more rapidly in the world of wine, where olfactory sensory analysis has always played a central role in attributing certain qualities to a wine. In this review, conducted using sources such as PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science, we examined papers published between January 2015 and January 2024. The aim was to explore prevailing trends in the use of human panels and sensory tools (such as the E-nose) in the wine industry. The focus was on the evaluation of wine quality attributes by paying specific attention to geographical origin, sensory defects, and monitoring of production trends. Analyzed results show that the application of E-nose-type sensors performs satisfactorily in that trajectory. Nevertheless, the integration of this type of analysis with more classical methods, such as the trained sensory panel test and with the application of destructive instrument volatile compound (VOC) detection (e.g., gas chromatography), still seems necessary to better explore and investigate the aromatic characteristics of wines.

Exploring the visualization of human milk odor profiles: Intuitive characterization and construction of the link between odor compounds and sensory attributes

Studies on odor are not negligible in the human milk (HM) science field because it plays an irreplaceable role in the feeding process of infants. This study aimed to investigate the odor skeleton components (OSCs) in HM and verify and construct an intuitive link between them and the HM odor attributes. A total of 72 odor-active compounds were identified from 32 HMs using the comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-olfactometry-mass spectrometry. Twenty of these compounds were identified as OSCs (average FD ≥ 1 and average OAV ≥ 1), and their actual odor contribution was clarified. Furthermore, the connection of the 20 OSCs with their corresponding eight odor attributes was visualized by constructing a molecular sensory odor wheel. Of them, 2,3-butanedione, (E)-2-decenal, nonanal, (E)-2-nonenal, octanal, 1-octen-3-one, hexanal, methional, and butanoic acid were the most important contributors to dairy-sweet, fishy, dairy-fat, metallic/iron, flour, grassy/green, cooked, and sweaty/rancid odor of HM.

The Complexity of Chinese Cereal Vinegar Flavor: A Compositional and Sensory Perspective

With a millennium-long history, traditional Chinese cereal vinegar (CCV) is a significant part of China's cultural heritage. The unique flavor of CCV is derived from the use of cereal and its bran as raw materials and solid-state fermentation as a brewing technique. This paper systemically summarized recent research progress on the aroma compounds in CCV, the biochemical generation of aroma compounds during the brewing process, and the association between sensory perception and the primary aroma compounds. Furthermore, a complete CCV lexicon and sensory wheel prototype were constructed. This study aims to lay a foundation for future CCV aroma research, quality improvement, and industrialization.

Aroma characterisation of Liu-pao tea based on volatile fingerprint and aroma wheel using SBSE-GC-MS

Liu-pao tea (LPT) has unique aroma characteristics, and is a special microbial fermented tea produced using dark raw tea (LPM) as its raw material. In this study, stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was applied to investigate the volatiles of 16 LPTs and 6 LPMs. Moreover, variations in volatile profiles between LPTs and LPMs were explored. Results showed that a total of 132 volatile compounds were identified from LPTs. The volatile fingerprint was constructed with a similarity ranged from 0.85 to 0.99. Furthermore, twenty-six aroma compounds were selected to depict the molecular aroma wheel of LPT. Multivariate statistical analysis revealed that the contents of 24 aroma compounds changed significantly (P < 0.05) when LPMs were processed into LPTs. These results reveal the volatile profiles of LPTs and aroma composition changes during microbial fermentation process, which might provide chemical basis of the aroma quality of LPT.

Sensory Wheel and Lexicon for the Description of Cold-Pressed Hemp Seed Oil

Cold-pressed hemp seed oil (CP-HSO) has become available on the market and is gaining popularity mainly for its appeal and nutritional profile. The sensory quality largely depends on seed quality and processing as well as oil storage conditions. Given the "native" nature of the product, obtained by cold-pressing, the development of a standardized methodology to evaluate and describe the sensory quality of HSOs is of the utmost importance. To this aim, 16 commercial HSOs were evaluated, covering the main differences in brands and sales channels. A trained panel developed a vocabulary to describe the HSO profile consisting of 44 attributes, and a practical sensory wheel was proposed to classify attributes in different clusters and according to sensory modality. A sensory profile sheet was developed including two color descriptors (yellow, green), seven main positive (sunflower/pumpkin seeds, nutty, toasted nutty, hay, sweet, bitter, and pungent), several secondary positive (herbs, coffee, tobacco, etc.), four main defects (rancid, paint, burnt, and fish), and other secondary negative descriptors (boiled vegetables, cucumber, etc.). Subsequently, specific training of the panelists was carried out, and a satisfactory performance level was reached. This study represents the first attempt to standardize the sensory quality and terminology of HSO.

Flavor Wheel Construction and Sensory Profile Description of Human Milk

To explore the flavor characteristics of human milk, we constructed a three-tiered human milk flavor wheel based on 53 sensory descriptors belonging to different sensory categories. Fifteen sensory descriptors were selected using M-value and multivariate statistical methods, and the corresponding references were set up to realize qualitative and quantitative sensory evaluation of the human milk samples. To ensure the accuracy and reliability of the sensory evaluation, the performance of the sensory panelists was also tested. The sensory profile analysis indicated that the established sensory descriptors could properly reflect the general sensory properties of the human milk and could also be used to distinguish different samples. Further investigation exposed that the fat content might be an important factor that influence the sensory properties of human milk. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the flavor wheel of human milk.

Nutritional and Sensory Properties of Protein Hydrolysates Based on Salmon (Salmo salar), Mackerel (Scomber scombrus), and Herring (Clupea harengus) Heads and Backbones

Protein hydrolysates based on salmon, mackerel, and herring heads and backbones were produced, and the sensory properties of the hydrolysates were evaluated by a highly trained sensory panel. The nutritional content of the products was evaluated, and the hydrolysates contained all the amino acids inherent to the raw material, including considerable levels of connective tissue amino acids glycine, proline, and hydroxyproline. Hydrolysates based on herring were the most flavor intense, whereas hydrolysates based on salmon were deemed more palatable. In this work, choice of fraction (heads vs. backbones) and enzyme had minor effects on sensory and nutritional properties, indicating that choice of raw material species was the major factor for flavor development in the produced protein hydrolysates. There were large variations in protein content and amino acid composition in the raw material fractions, but as expected, only minor variations were found in the final products.

Algae as a Source of Natural Flavors in Innovative Foods

As a result of their nutritive values, algae have been used as a food resource for centuries, and there is a growing interest to use them as enrichment ingredients in food products. However, food product acceptance by consumers is strongly linked to their organoleptic properties, especially the aroma, taste, and a combination of the two, flavor. With regard to edible algae, "fresh seashore", "seafood-like", "cucumber green", and "earthy" are descriptors commonly used to define their aromas. Several families of molecules participate in the diversity and peculiarities of algal aromas: pungent sulfur compounds and marine halogenated components but also herbaceous fatty acid derivatives and fruity-floral terpenoids. In both macroalgae (seaweeds) and microalgae, these compounds are studied from a chemistry point of view (identification and quantification) and a sensorial point of view, involving sensorial evaluation by panelists. As a whole food, a food ingredient, or a feed, algae are valued for their nutritional composition and their health benefits. However, because the acceptance of food by consumers is so strongly linked to its sensorial features, studies have been performed to explore the aromas of algae, their impact on food, their evolution through processing, and their ability to produce selected aromas using biotechnology. This review aims at highlighting algal aromas from seaweed and microalgae as well as their use, their handling, and their processing in the food industry.

Flavor formation in different production steps during the processing of cold-smoked Spanish mackerel

This study aimed to determine the changes in the flavor profile during different operating units when making cold-smoked Spanish mackerel. Sensory evaluation and instrumental analysis of tenderness were applied to optimize the processing parameters. For the overall odor perception, distinct odor among fresh and processed samples could be distinguished using electronic nose (e-Nose). Purge-and-trap (P&T) extraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to identify volatile compounds. Alcohols were the major volatiles in Spanish mackerel over the whole processing, while 2-butanol was found in the highest concentration. Curing was an effective way to remove fishy odor. Drying decreased the concentration of volatiles, especially sulfur compounds. Odor formation in cold-smoked mackerel could be divided into four steps (curing, drying, cold smoking and heating) as a result of partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA).