Volatile Aroma Compounds—Food Sensory and Nutrition Attributes

A special issue of Foods (ISSN 2304-8158). This special issue belongs to the section "Food Nutrition".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 12 February 2026 | Viewed by 179

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Institute of Food Science, National Council of Research (ISA-CNR), Via Roma 64, 83100 Avellino, Italy
Interests: volatile organic compounds (VOCs); head space solid phase micro-extraction (HS SPME); gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS); electronic nose; food quality; food safety; plant response to abiotic stress; packaging and/or storage conditions; innovative crops pre-treatment; modified and controlled atmosphere; logistic cold chain; innovative transport system; no-destructive systems for quality evaluation of fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables; sensorial evaluation of fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables; consumer acceptability based on the sensory properties of food
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Volatiles organic compounds (VOCs) play a crucial role in determining taste, aroma, and overall food enjoyment. They can also reflect the quality, safety, and nutritional value of food. VOCs are emitted due to different processes that might be impulsive (ripening and contamination) or assisted (cooking or fermentation). VOCs can also be produced by changes in temperature during manufacturing, transportation, and storage. The most widely used method for volatile characterization is solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) in combination with GC or GC×GC coupled with MS.

The sensory evaluation of food can be achieved by a sensory analytical instrument (E-nose) associated with sensory analysis performed by professional panel groups. The interdisciplinary connections between a sensory panel and analytical data (VOC profiles), particularly in the context of new food products, remain insufficiently explored. In this context, this Special Issue of Foods invites you to send novel contributions concerning any aspect related to VOC monitoring, with the aim of contributing to identifying possible signature metabolites (bio-markers) or patterns, which, in combination with sensory analysis, can guarantee desirable aromatic characteristics to consumers in order to meet the expectations of the audience in a specifically targeted market (i.e., novel foods) and ensuring the highest possible quality.

Dr. Rosaria Cozzolino
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • volatile organic compounds
  • microextraction techniques
  • HS-SPME
  • GC-MS
  • GCxGC-MS
  • electronic nose
  • sensory analysis
  • flavor and aroma
  • odor and odor threshold
  • odor activity values
  • consumer acceptability
  • fresh and fresh-cut vegetables
  • genotype
  • geographical origin
  • packaging
  • pre and postharvest treatments
  • cooked food
  • fermented food
  • food bioactive compounds
  • food quality/safety/authenticity
  • food contaminants
  • data statistical treatment

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

18 pages, 725 KB  
Article
Impact of Different Grilling Temperatures on the Volatile Profile of Beef
by Fathi Morsli, Aidan P. Moloney, Frank J. Monahan, Peter G. Dunne, David T. Mannion, Iwona Skibinska and Kieran N. Kilcawley
Foods 2025, 14(24), 4239; https://doi.org/10.3390/foods14244239 - 10 Dec 2025
Abstract
The volatile profiles of beef steaks (Longissimus lumborum) were analysed both raw and grilled to five different internal temperatures, 55 °C, 60 °C, 71 °C, 77 °C, and 85 °C, representing very-rare, rare, medium rare, well-done, and very well-done, respectively. Volatile [...] Read more.
The volatile profiles of beef steaks (Longissimus lumborum) were analysed both raw and grilled to five different internal temperatures, 55 °C, 60 °C, 71 °C, 77 °C, and 85 °C, representing very-rare, rare, medium rare, well-done, and very well-done, respectively. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were extracted using direct immersion high-capacity sorptive extraction (DI-HiSorb) and analysed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). A total of ninety-one VOCs were detected with forty-two significantly impacted by the degree of doneness, thirty of which had Variable in Projection score > 1. Principal Component Analysis produced three distinct clusters, (i) raw, (ii) very-rare, rare, and medium-rare, (iii) and well-done and very well-done. Direct immersion high-capacity sorptive extraction (DI-HiSorb) provided a comprehensive volatile profile of grilled beef steak across different degrees of doneness and revealed that the abundance of methyl esters. The main findings were that in relation to the degree of doneness methyl esters were significantly reduced, with both aldehydes and pyrazines increasing due to thermal lipid oxidation, Strecker degradation, and Maillard reaction, highlighting the significance of internal temperature on the volatile profile of steak during grilling. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Volatile Aroma Compounds—Food Sensory and Nutrition Attributes)
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