Sensory characterization of coconut oil

The electronic nose allows a detailed evaluation of the sensory properties of coconut oil

29/06/2017

Coconut oil is increasingly used in many personal care, homecare or food products, as a functional ingredient. That is why sensory panel or electronic nose methods are developed to strictly control the organoleptic properties of coconut oil and to guarantee a consistent sensory quality in the final product, with no defect and no adulteration of the oil.

A study has been conducted on several samples to evaluate the organoleptic features of coconut oils by means of a sensory panel and HERACLES Fast Gas Chromatography based Electronic Nose.

The sensory panel assessed coconut oils by scoring the samples according to several sensory attributes: rancidity, sweetness and caramel note. The scores ranged from 0 (low intensity) to 3 (high intensity). The headspace of coconut oils was measured with the electronic nose and their odor profiles compared, which highlighted significant differences in terms of oil rancidity. The scores obtained by the sensory panel can be correlated to the electronic nose measurements, thus allowing to determine intensities of the 3 sensory attributes for blind samples.

With HERACLES Electronic Nose further equipped with AroChemBase module, it is also possible to investigate the nature of the volatile compounds detected. The information about the chemical composition of coconut oil headspace allows to better understand the sensory differences or defects that can be observed among products.

HERACLES electronic nose is an efficient, reliable and fast tool to control the odor and sensory quality of oils.