Food Flavors

If flavor has to be described in its simplest form, it is a combination of taste and odor which is influenced by sensations of heat, cold, pain and other sensations. In food and beverage industries, flavor plays an important role in determining the acceptability of foods. This may change its intensity over a time period during storage.

Flavor is generated by taste producing and odor producing compounds. Analysis of odorants or aroma compounds plays a central role in determining the flavor of a food substance or product. Aroma compounds are generally volatile compounds present in wine, spices, food, essential oils. Some food groups like fruits and vegetables develop flavor after biochemical reactions like ripening.

Chemically, aroma compounds affecting the flavor in food can be classified as

• Alcohols – ethyl maltol, menthol, benzyl alcohol
• Aldehydes – acetaldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, hexenal, neral, benzaldehyde, vanillin
• Amines – indole. Cadaverine, pyridine, trimethyl amine
• Esters – acetate, fructone, pentyl pentanoate, ethyl butanoate
• Ketones – acetyl pyrroline, acetyl tetra hydro pyridine, octenone
• Lactones
• Terpenes
  
  

How flavor of a food can be analysed?

Sensory analysis of a food substance or product is crucial in food processing industry. This helps in determining the raw material quality, and end product properties. Flavor compounds present in foods are highly diversified and may be present in very minute concentrations. Hence, flavor analysis is a complex task in food industry.

One of the significant steps in flavor determination is determining Threshold value. It is the lowest concentration of a compound and can be determined by smelling or tasting the food sample.

Procedure for detection of flavor compounds in food sample is a s follows -

• Isolation of volatile compounds that are present in food matrix
• Dilution analysis for differentiation of flavor substances from rest of the volatile fraction
• Concentration and identification
• Quantification of threshold values
• Simulation of aroma based on the analytical results obtained.
  
  

Performing flavor stability studies will provide information related to

• Quality control and shelf life of a food product or substance
• Validation in case of novel food product development
• Evaluation of product defects
  
  

Food flavors

Flavors are added to food stuffs to contribute taste and odor. FSSAI has classified the flavors in 3 types.

• Natural flavoring substances – extracted from vegetable or animal materials and are not further chemically modified or changed. E.g., vanilla extract
• Natural-identical flavoring substance – these are chemically identical to natural substances but are obtained by chemical modification of natural substances. E.g., vanillin
• Artificial flavoring substance – obtained by chemical modification or chemical synthesis of natural substances but are not identical to them.

Apart from the above-mentioned types, flavor enhancers are also added to enhance the flavor of a food which are amino acid or nucleotide derivatives. These include glutamic acid salts, glycine salts, guanylic acid salts, inosinic acis salts, organic acids like acetic acid, citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, lactic acid.

List of key flavor components in food

Sometimes due to undesirable fermentation, microbial contamination, unwanted thermal conditions, reaction of components, packaging, feed, oxidation and many other reasons, off flavors are also produced in foods like

• Sun-off flavor in milk, beer
• Terpenic off flavor in orange juice
• Vinegar-like smells
• Chemical aroma
• Sulfur-like smells
• Flavor and aroma absorptions artificial
• Plastic off-taste
  
  

Regulations for food flavors

EU regulation 1334/2008 governs the usage of flavourings and flavour properties in food in Europe. The regulation includes the flavourings that can be added to food and also the maximum levels for these substances in the final food product — based on assessment by the European Food Safety Authority.

Natural flavoring substance may contain certain biologically active principal components which may pose certain health risks to human beings. Hence, they should be monitored and establish regulations for minimum limits. In the UK, the Food Standards Agency plays a significant role in developing new methods for measuring BPAs in food.

In India, only those flavours that are permitted for use in Food Products approved by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) should be used.

The FSSAI regulations prohibits the use of the following flavouring agents in any food. They are

• Coumarin and dihydrocoumarin;
• Tonkabean (Dipteryl adorat);
• β-asarone and cinamyl anthracilate
• Estragole
• Ethyl methyl ketone
• Ethyl-3-phenylglycidate
• Eugenyl methyl ether
• Methyl β napthyl ketone
• p-Propylanisole
• Saffrole and isosaffrole
• Thujone and isothujone (α & β thujone)

Diethyleneglycol and monoethyl ether shall not be used as solvent in flavours.

Testing services offered by Eurofins

With over 100 years of experience Eurofins scientists are skilled and experienced analytically, and are capable to provide a tailored solution to help understand organoleptic inconsistencies utilizing several novel scientific techniques.

• Identification of source of off flavor or off odor by utilizing advanced analytical techniques
• Analysis of volatile substances in food samples by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), a powerful technique
• Selective and sensitive analysis of volatile components by performing solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) coupled with GC-MS
• Flavor profiling method for detection of off flavors through comparison of the profile of a control sample to that of a suspect sample.
• We can analyse thousands of volatile components in your food matrix and help you out with our off flavor problem.
• Sensory analyses
• Stability tests
• Threshold value detection
  
  

Eurofins advantage

• Our analytical services are equipped with state-of-the-art equipments
• Fast turn-around time (TAT)
• Local contact with a global network
• Online services - ordering and analytical results on-line (EOL)
• Active Participation in industry associations and regulatory bodies allowing early advice on potential food scares and legal obligations
• Expert advice related to testing schemes, on-site-check for hygiene and allergens, labelling advice and traceability
• Reliable results
• International presence
• Local contact with global network