抄録
In this paper, a simple and precise analytical method for detection of off-flavors with GC/MS is described. Off-flavors were extracted from various foodstuffs by using Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME), Stir Bar Sorptive Extraction (SBSE) or Adsorbing Tube. The extracted chemicals were injected into a GC/MS and analyzed under a unified analytical condition. Each chemical detected was identified by its retention time and mass spectrum. Retention time obtained was converted into retention index. After this process, the result was registered into the chemical database with other chemical information, e.g. chemical name, molecular weight, molecular formula, and CAS registered number. Total number of chemicals listed in the database is 1004, which includes 274 off-flavors, 17 organic solvents, 196 environmental contaminants, 470 pesticides residues and 47 highly toxic substances. The combination of the unified analytical method and the database mentioned above was very useful to identify causative agents of off-flavor.
Two quantitative methods of off-flavor are also described. These are based on the manner of adding the standard substance at several concentration levels in the control samples which did not contain the target substance.
In the last section, three examples of off-flavors from foodstuffs or food packages are reported. In those cases causative agents such as 2,4-decadienal, mineral oil and 1,4-dichlorobenzene were identified by the reported method.
