edited by Brian Baigrie

Taints and Off-Flavours in Food describes some of the most important causes of taints and off-flavours, how they can be identified and dealt with.

Taints and Off-Flavours in Food covers:

• sensory and instrumental methods for detecting and analysing taints and off-flavours in food
• packaging and residues from cleaning and disinfection
• various causes of off-flavours, from those caused by microbial action and oxidation to those caused by the Maillard reaction and interactions between food components

Contents

Introduction

• Defining off-flavours and taints
• The structure of this book

Sensory analytical methods in detecting taints and off-flavours in food

• Sensory test procedures
• Types of test: difference/discrimination tests
• Types of test: quantitative and hedonistic tests
• Data handling, analysis and presentation
• Choosing and interpreting sensory tests
• Applications of sensory testing
• Standardisation of test methods and instrumental methods
• Ethical aspects

Instrumental methods in detecting taints and off-flavours

• Liquid-based extraction techniques
• Headspace extraction
• Solid phase microextraction
• Gas chromatography
• Stir bar sorptive extraction
• Electronic noses

Packaging materials as a source of taints

• The main types of food packaging
• Sources of taints
• Chemicals responsible for taints
• The main foodstuffs affected
• Instrumental analysis of taints
• Sample preparation techniques
• Sampling strategy
• Examples of taint investigations
• Preventing taints
• Developments in taint monitoring: electronic noses
• Tracing the cause of a packaging taint
• Future packaging trends affecting taints

Microbiologically-derived off-flavours

• Bacteria
• Aerobic bacteria
• Facultative anaerobic bacteria
• Anaerobic bacteria
• Actinomycetes
• Fungi

Oxidative rancidity as a source of off-flavours

• Oxidation
• Autoxidation
• Photo-oxidation
• Lipoxygenase (LOX)
• Ketonic rancidity and metal-catalysed lipid oxidation
• Off-flavours from volatile lipid molecules
• Case study: lipid autoxidation and meat flavour deterioration
• Case study: lipid oxidation in fish
• Conclusions: preventing off-flavours

The Maillard reaction as a source of off-flavours

• The mechanism of the Maillard reaction
• Relevant Maillard reaction products (MRPs) in food flavour
• Staling and off-flavours in particular foods

Off-flavours due to interactions between food components

• Flavour compound volatility in different food matrices
• Flavour retention in different food matrices
• Off-flavours caused by reactions between food components in the food matrix
• Bacterial interactions with the food matrix causing off-flavours
• Bacterial interactions with additives causing off-flavours
• Identifying and preventing off-flavours

Taints from cleaning and disinfecting agents

• Cleaning and disinfecting agents
• Testing the safety of cleaning and disinfecting agents
• Testing cleaning and disinfecting agents for their capacity to cause taints
• Detecting cleaning and disinfecting agents in rinse mater
• Detecting cleaning and disinfecting agents in food
• Measurement of chloroform

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