7 - Gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O), electronic noses (e-noses) and electronic tongues (e-tongues) for in vivo food flavour measurement

Abstract

The flavour of food products is undoubtedly one of the most important parameters influencing acceptance of particular products by consumers. Therefore, evaluation of taste and smell of food products is important in different areas of food industry. This chapter reviews two types of artificial olfaction instrumentation, i.e. gas chromatography-olfactory (GC-O) and chemical sensor technologies (electronic nose and tongue – e-nose and e-tongue), combined with multivariate data processing methods as promising approaches for rapid analysis of food. The chapter first discusses the working principles of each system and gives a brief description of instrumentation. Further discussion concerns comparison of the GC-O system with sensor technologies, especially by considering the advantages and disadvantages of both type of instrumentation. The chapter also includes examples of specific applications for the detection of food flavour and volatile components.