The volatile content of the effluent from the retronasal aroma simulator (RAS) was compared with that of human breath using mass spectroscopy (MS-Nose). The ratios of volatile compounds from the RAS were closely related to those from the panelists' breath with the correlation coefficients ranging from 0.97 to 0.99 from model food systems. A greater sensitivity using the RAS was achieved because higher concentrations of volatiles in the MS-Nose were produced from the RAS than from the breath. In analyzing the effects on volatility of RAS parameters including airflow rate, temperature, saliva ratio, and blending speed, airflow rate had the greatest effect. The correlation coefficients for the real food systems studied ranged from 0.83 to 0.99. The RAS gives a good approximation of time-averaged flavor release in the mouth as defined by breath-by-breath measurements.

Gas chromatography/olfactometry (GC/O) based on dilution analysis (e.g., CharmAnalysis or aroma extraction dilution analysis) gives an indication of what compounds are most important (most potent) to the aroma of foods. The application of solid phase microextraction to the preparation of samples for GC/O dilution analysis was shown to be feasible by varying the fiber thickness and length to achieve various absorbant volumes. Keywords: Flavor release; gas chromatography olfactometry; Charm; solid phase microextraction (SPME)