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Measuring Oral Fatty Acid Thresholds, Fat Perception, Fatty Food Liking, and Papillae Density in Humans
Published on: June 4, 2014
Olfactory discrimination of fat content in milks is facilitated by differences in volatile compound composition
Shuo Mu1, Markus Stieger1, Sanne Boesveldt1
1Division of Human Nutrition and Health, Wageningen University, PO Box 17, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
The mechanisms underlying the ability of humans to olfactorily discriminate fat content in milks remain unknown. In this study, we found that fat contents (0.5, 1.5 and 3.5% fat) can be discriminated by olfaction in commercially available pasteurized milks (p < 0.05) but not in ultra-high temperature processed (UHT) milks. The composition of volatile compounds of pasteurized milks differed with fat content, whereas that of UHT milks differing in fat content was similar. Principal component analysis revealed that differences in volatile compound composition of pasteurized milks differing in fat content contribute to olfactory discrimination. In UHT milks, acetoin and 2-heptanone may mask odor differences leading to indistinguishable odors. No differences were observed regarding perceived odor intensity of pasteurized milks or UHT milks differing in fat content. We conclude that the olfactory discrimination of fat content in pasteurized milks is facilitated by differences in volatile compound composition rather than odor intensity.
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