Application of the Olfactoscan method to study the ability of saturated aldehydes in masking the odor of methional.

A novel technology (Olfactoscan screening) was applied to screen for volatiles including saturated aldehydes that mask the perception of methional, an off-flavor commonly found in orange juice. For the screening experiment, methional odor pulses were generated by an olfactometer and, one by one, mixed with alternating odor compounds that were separated by gas chromatography from a model solution. Trained panelists evaluated the odor mixtures so formed for methional intensity. Methional perception was significantly suppressed if it was mixed with octanal (p < 0.05). Similar interactions were not observed between methional and other volatiles including hexanal. This observation suggests highly specific interaction between methional and octanal. Octanal-methional interactions were then tested in orange juice (quantitative descriptive analysis with expert panel, n = 10). At certain levels, octanal significantly suppressed methional-associated off-notes such as "musty", "decayed orange", and "potato" (p < 0.01). The overall flavor quality of the orange juice was significantly improved (p < 0.01). As it occurs naturally in orange juice, an enrichment of octanal during juice production is suggested to prevent a methional-induced loss of orange flavor quality.