8 - Application of Electronic Nose and Tongue for Beverage Quality Evaluation

Abstract

In the food and beverage industries, there is a growing need for a systematic approach to maintain a certain standard of quality of the product. Quality of a product must ensure consumer expectations regarding the analytical and sensory quality of food and beverages. In order to achieve a guaranteed sustainable market success for beverage industries, control of quality standards throughout all stages of the manufacturing process (raw materials, processing, transport, and finished product) are to be maintained. Sensory quality evaluation is a practiced method for beverage industries where expert panelists ensure the quality by tasting the product which is highly subjective and non-repeatable also. Another method for quality estimation is analytical chemical testing process which is expensive and depends on special laboratory and operator. Electronic nose and electronic tongue systems are the sensor systems which can detect quality of beverages by detecting aroma and taste, respectively. This chapter is intended to explain the application of these sensors for quality evaluation of beverages. Over last two decades these electronic sensors have grown considerably to detect several parameters related to quality issues like age of sample, contamination level, impurities present if any, that is, overall instrumental quality evaluation are possible using these sensors which are repeatable also.