Gas chromatography–olfactometry in food flavour analysis

The application of gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O) in food flavour analysis represents to be a valuable technique to characterise odour-active, as well as character impact compounds, responsible for the characterizing odour of a food sample. The present article briefly reviews the use of GC–O in the flavour investigation of dairy products (milk and cheese), coffee, meat and fruits. Particular attention has been devoted to extraction techniques, GC–O hardware commonly utilised and olfactometric assessment methods, which can be applied to food analysis.