Reliable quality control using impartial flavour signatures

Quality control in general (raw material, intermediate and finished products) same as authentication plays a more and more important role nowadays in the food and flavour industry.

The G.A.S. set-up of IMS in combination with a gas chromatographic pre-separation and when equipped with an automatic headspace sampler to achieve easy and reliable sampling stands out with unique characteristics in several quality control related applications. Due to the physical working principle of GC-IMS technology maximum analytical reliability is achieved

Further to the systems reliability the outstanding sensitivity of IMS of low ppb/µg/L-range –which for many compounds is comparable to the range of the human nose- allows to test the sample “as is”, omit any sample pre-treatment and by that avoid a change of its characteristics. The FlavourSpec same as GC-IMS stand out through a very easy to use menu that was particularly developed to serve as straightforward analytical approach to be carried by non-academic personnel. These advantages are used to provide impartial analytical results without mayor efforts or requirements to efficiently support sensory panels and avoid time and labour-intensive GC-MS analysis. G.A.S. provides different instrumental set-ups: Directly attached to the process using the GC-IMS ‘on-line’ or at line using the FlavourSpec® for headspace analysis of solids and liquids both system to either detect/identify and quantify single compounds/markers using the ‘GCxIMS Library Search’ software tool which is based on the Kovats (retention indices) of the NIST. Alternatively the whole peak pattern of the GC-IMS chromatogram can be analyzed to quickly and result orientated test for:

• Food freshness, storage conditions, best before date

• Determination of diacetyl and pentandion during the beer brewing process

• Quality control of commodities and finished products:
  

  -        Ingredients and herbs
  

  -        olive oil
  

  -        hops
  

  -        fish, meat
  

  -        diary products
  

  -        fruit juices and other mixtures