Perception of odour mixtures: The next challenge in flavour analysis

Short paper dans conférence.International audienceThe olfactory dimension of food flavour is critical to the food identity and typicality. Food odour and aroma result from the processing of complex mixtures of volatile compounds activating the sense of smell. The perceptual properties of odour mixtures have been explored from both the aroma analysis point of view and the psychophysical point of view, thus revealing perceptual effects such as masking, synergy, or perceptual blending. However, considering odorants separately, the classical aroma analysis approach misses the central role of perceptual integration in odour mixture processing. Therefore, the challenge of food flavour analysis is now to integrate the mechanisms of complex odorant mixtures perception. Here, we briefly review recombination strategies and tools that are already available to go one step forward and consider not only keyodorants but also key-associations involved in overall flavour perception