The World's Leading PTR-MS Trace Analyzers Company

Food & Flavor Science

Real-time aroma compound analysis with PTR-MS

The results provided by IONICON PTR-MS instruments enhance research, flavor & fragrance development, quality control and enable online process monitoring in food & flavor industries.

Discover the unmatched advantages of PTR-MS in one of the fields it has originally been developed for – food & flavor science:

  • Rapid investigation of complex aroma systems
  • Real-time mouth- and nosespace analysis during food consumption
  • Extremely high sample throughput via autosampler
  • Online monitoring of food processing techniques
  • Non-invasive headspace injection without the need of sample preparation
  • Chemical fingerprinting
  • Ideal for chemometric data-mining

Aroma and its perception can influence buying decisions. It is therefore indispensable for the industry to understand what we smell and taste when e.g. drinking a cup of coffee or enjoying a piece of chocolate, at the very moment the flavor molecules hit our receptors.

Flavor and taste of food can also vary over time, depending on raw materials or production processes etc. For a consistent brand image however, the aroma quality of food has to remain consistent.

In order to provide scientists and the industry with a better understanding of sensory perception, IONICON provides real-time VOC analyzers and is the market leader in PTR-MS. Conventional technologies might be sensitive or selective, but only PTR-MS additionally offers real-time capability for investigating dynamic processes. You will get the full "analytical movie", not just a snapshot.

Some of the world's most renowned food & flavor researchers stated in a peer-reviewed publication:

"PTR-MS is an accurate, highly sensitive, direct-injection technique that allows for the rapid characterization of food products and for the monitoring of processes in food science and technology, and agro-industry, without any pre-treatment".

IONICON PTR-MS – food & flavor success stories:

  • Hot drinks: coffee, tea
  • Cold drinks: fruit juice, flavored water, carbonated drinks
  • Alcoholic drinks: beer, wine, vodka, whiskey
  • Dairy products: milk, hard cheese, mozzarella, mascarpone, yoghurt, custard, butter, whey
  • Vegetables: chili, tomato, herbs, garlic, onion, beans, soya, broccoli, bell pepper, rice
  • Fruits: apple, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, currant, banana,
  • Seasonings: saffron, pepper, herb extracts, truffles
  • Meat: poultry, pork, ham, wagyu, beef
  • Snacks: chewing gum, chocolate, cracker, candy, cereal bar
  • Fats: sunflower oil, olive oil, palm oil, coconut oil, fish oil, animal fats
  • Bread, yeast
  • Cooking emissions, frying fumes

and many more…