Unlocking the secrets of flavour - VOC profiling for food quality and authenticity
LCGC: The Column, June 2025
What gives green tea its refreshing aroma? Why does black tea carry deeper, richer notes? The answer lies in volatile organic compounds (VOCs) – and in this feature article for LCGC’s The Column, Markes' application specialists Lucy Hearn and Rebecca Cole show how VOC profiling reveals the hidden chemistry behind flavour.
Their work uses high-capacity sorptive extraction with GC–MS and advanced chemometric tools to highlight subtle yet significant variations in aroma across four different tea types. Crucially, the authors demonstrate how even trace-level VOCs – often overlooked – can play an outsized role in sensory experience and consumer perception.
This automated, solvent-free method offers clear benefits for food quality control, authenticity checks, and product development. With exceptional sensitivity and reproducibility, it opens new doors for producers seeking to understand the impact of ingredients, processing methods, and storage on flavour profiles.
