Food, Flavor & Fragrance

High throughput analysis of VOCs in food, flavor and fragrance processing and packaging.

This application note describes the application of MHE-SIFT-MS to detection of C1 -C10 aldehydes and other oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in paperboard.

This webcast focuses on case studies that demonstrate simple analysis of chromatographically challenging compounds. Formaldehyde receives special attention, as it is important across a wide range of industries (from environmental to pharmaceutical testing).

This webinar describes a recent addition to the portfolio of techniques available for routine sample analysis: SIFT-MS. SIFT-MS enables rapid, quantitative analysis of VOCs across the full spectrum of packaging materials.  Detailed case studies will describe applications in polymeric and paperboard emissions analysis.

This application note describes the application of SH-SIFT-MS to the detection of very diverse volatiles in eleven paperboard samples with analysis times of less than one minute per sample.

This webinar addresses chemical and sensory-like analysis using SIFT-MS in the context of odors from paperboard packaging.  SIFT-MS is a powerful tool for rapid instrument-based sensory screening.

SH-SIFT-MS provides an instrument-based odor rating technique for the analysis of diverse odor compounds – such as short-chain organic acids, aldehydes and reduced sulfur compounds. Throughput of at least 12 samples per hour can be achieved using this method.

SIFT-MS provides rapid analysis of volatiles that indicate non-conformance of foods and ingredients.  This webinar describes how SIFT-MS can be employed in both targeted and untargeted operational modes to achieve high-throughput detection of product defects.

In this webinar, we introduce the SIFT-MS technique and its automation, and present a variety of automated food and aroma applications, including:

• Varietal and origin authentication
• Objective sensory screening
• Packaging testing
• Process quality assurance applications

Plant species – even to the cultivar level – usually have distinctive natural aromas. When damaged, additional volatile compounds are generated through enzymatic activity. SIFT-MS readily detects and quantifies volatiles characteristic of both aroma and leaf wounding in real-time, which are of significance to the culinary and agricultural industries, respectively.

This application note describes how SIFT-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis rapidly classifies beer products by targeting well-known beer aroma compounds.  Automated headspace-SIFT-MS analysis can classify beer at throughputs of 12 samples per hour, offering great potential for rapid product screening.

Analysis of in vivo flavor release from foods requires high sensitivity, rapid response, and immunity to moisture. SIFT-MS combines these requirements with best-in-class selectivity to effectively measure flavor release, as demonstrated in this case study for chewing gums.

Rapid classification of coffee bean origin is achieved simply and objectively by applying SIFT-MS to instantaneous, direct detection of emitted volatile compounds.

This application note demonstrates the simplicity with which small molecules are detected from fruits using direct SIFT-MS analysis, in contrast to conventional gas chromatographic methods. Automated SIFT-MS also provides significant throughput and method development advantages compared to conventional analytical approaches.

Direct headspace analysis using SIFT-MS is very sensitive and provides straightforward determination of aroma volatile concentrations. This application note uses fruit juices and mixes as a case study, demonstrating the ease with which static headspace and stripping studies can be conducted using SIFT-MS.

Process-line or laboratory detection of fish oil oxidation is achieved extremely simply by applying SIFT-MS for instantaneous, direct detection of volatile oxidation markers.

Due to relatively long shipping times, and relatively high shipping costs, green kiwifruit producers need to ensure that their fruit is at optimal ripeness before it is shipped. This study demonstrates that SIFT-MS readily analyzes volatile compounds around trays of kiwifruit, yielding an accurate assessment of fruit ripeness.

SIFT-MS provides instant, direct analysis of volatile freshness markers emitted from fish and seafood, ensuring that products are fresh.

Automated, direct headspace analysis using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) provides rapid and economic screening of flavor mixes. This application note describes how SIFT-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis readily classifies various strawberry flavor mixes with analysis times of less than one minute per sample.

SIFT-MS automation presents a major breakthrough in high-throughput headspace and gas analysis, with throughput in excess of 100 samples/ hour. This brochure provides examples of automation applications of SIFT-MS.

In this plenary presentation made at the 2019 North American SIFT-MS User Meeting, Dr. Barringer gives an overview of the ground-breaking research that her group has conducted on the mitigation of “garlic breath”.  Prof. Barringer has used SIFT-MS in diverse flavor research applications since 2008 and has published extensively in this area.

In this webinar, we describe the benefits of SIFT-MS for flavor analysis using various application examples:

• Flavor development during processing of tomato, mango and cocoa
• Enzymatic flavor generation in fresh tomatoes and strawberries
• In vivo assessment of “garlic breath” deodorization

SIFT-MS is a revolutionary direct analysis technology for fast, sensitive, selective and robust analysis of flavor compounds in air or headspace at trace levels. 

In this webinar, we introduce the SIFT-MS technique and a variety of food and flavor applications, including:

• Headspace and in vivo flavor analysis

• Process monitoring

• Sensory screening

• Packaging testing

SIFT-MS provides unique solutions to difficult analytical challenges faced within the food, flavors, and fragrances industry.  This direct mass spectrometry technique offers unmatched speed, sensitivity, and selectivity that are paired with a wide dynamic range for detecting VOCs.  This
brochure outlines several SIFT-MS based food, flavor and fragrance solutions that Syft provides.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) form a key component in the expression of sensory and characteristics for confectionery products. This white paper describes the VOC analysis capabilities of Selected Ion Flow Tube Mass Spectrometry (SIFT-MS) that are relevant to flavour-release research and manufacturing of confectionery. The application of these capabilities is illustrated, with results from actual analyses presented.

The power of SIFT-MS for measuring volatiles can be harnessed in a number of different ways in the food industry. For example, SIFT-MS has applications in consumer perception of food flavor, determining causes of food spoilage, detecting food adulteration and identifying the origin of food products. Using case studies on the analysis of fruit juice, cheese, honey and garlic, Professor Barringer discusses these applications.

SIFT-MS provides direct, rapid sample analysis of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with no or minimal sample prep required. When coupled with autosampler technology, SIFT-MS yields very high sample throughput (in excess of 100 samples per hour), including for challenging compounds like ammonia, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulfide.  Learn how this direct mass spec technology serves a range of industries, from environmental analysis to food testing to pharma.

Learn how you can adopt direct mass spectrometry in your routine analysis workflow.  Adaptation of routine procedures and techniques to automated SIFT-MS will be illustrated with case studies applicable to environmental, consumer product and biomedical laboratory testing. In particular, a head-to-head comparison of GC/MS and SIFT-MS for headspace analysis of volatiles in blood plasma will be described.

In this application note, SIFT-MS was used to compare four New Zealand cheeses marketed as “parmesan” with four Italian Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano cheeses. A total of 38 volatile compounds in the cheese headspace were monitored with headspace concentrations varying between single digit parts per billion (ppb) to tens of parts per million (ppm). When the results were subjected to multivariate statistical analysis, a clear discrimination was found between the New Zealand “parmesan” and Italian cheeses.

Doctors Jamie Minaeian, Mark Perkins, and Kathy Ridgway of Element (UK) evaluated SIFT-MS for real-time detection of volatile compounds, such as acrylamide, that are formed during certain food production processes. This Syft Application Talk, presented by Dr Mark Perkins, outlines their approach and success!

Dr Castada presents his research on Characterization and Classification of Lamb Flavor Using SIFT-MS. This presentation encompasses the full spectrum of SIFT-MS application development. Dr Castada describes the addition of key lamb flavor compounds to the SIFT-MS compound library, the acquisition of data using headspace-SIFT-MS and the data analysis process.

The excellent selectivity of SIFT-MS enables comprehensive detection of VOCs and inorganic gases, with the ability to quantify multiple analytes simultaneously. The wide range of analytes that can be measured by SIFT-MS make it a great solution for food, flavor and agriculture applications.  In the webinar, we discuss applications:

• Flavor formation and release
• Breath-based analysis
• Origin classification
• Freshness determination
• Instrument-based sensory evaluations

In this sixth and final episode, Dr Perkins reflects on the automation journey and shares his practical "hot tips" for a wide variety of automated analyses.  The webinar (and series!) concludes with a discussion of how automated SIFT-MS is an excellent complementary technique to the conventional laboratory "workhorse" techniques: gas and liquid chromatography.

In this fifth episode, Dr Perkins describes the novel continuous headspace analysis (CHA) technique that he developed to measure stripping of volatiles. (Note: CHA is not to be confused with dynamic headspace analysis!).  In addition, Mark describes simple, very high-throughput gas sample bag analysis and touches on other recent developments – including thermal desorption-SIFT-MS.

In this fourth episode, Dr Perkins describes how simply and rapidly traditional instrument calibration is achieved with the automated SIFT-MS configuration. Traditional calibration approaches have not featured regularly in the SIFT-MS literature due to the widespread use of reliable library-based quantitation. However, calibration is essential for contract testing laboratories, so it is addressed in detail and from a number of different angles in this webinar.

In this third episode, Dr Perkins describes the application of SIFT-MS to multiple headspace extraction (MHE).  You will learn how to determine matrix-independent concentrations from MHE. Furthermore, Dr Perkins describes how the speed of SIFT-MS analysis can be leveraged to accelerate method development for both SIFT-MS and conventional methods – for example, through rapid determination of headspace equilibration times.

In this second episode, Dr Perkins provides a practical guide to automated static headspace (SH) analysis with SIFT-MS.  You will learn how SH-SIFT-MS can address throughput challenges and simplify analysis of chromatographically challenging species.

In this first episode, Dr Perkins answers the important question:

Why Automate Analysis?

This webinar introduces the benefits of automation and discusses how they can be applied to SIFT-MS, enabling straightforward adoption by the contract laboratory.

Beef freshness is evaluated easily and objectively by applying SIFT-MS for instant, direct analysis of evolved volatile freshness marker compounds.

Headspace-SIFT-MS can screen over 220 samples per day for volatile MOSH and MOAH compounds – nearly seven-fold more samples than the routine liquid and gas chromatography method.

We asked Mike McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, Inc. about his experience using SIFT-MS.  Hear what he had to say about the speed of analysis and flexibility inherent to Syft's product solutions.

SIFT-MS provides rapid, sensitive, and robust analysis of benzene and other contaminants in a wide array of commercial products. Integration with a headspace autosampler enables rapid screening of hundreds of samples per day.

The ability of SIFT-MS to monitor critical volatile organic compounds (VOCs) produced by a bioreactor in real-time at low parts-per-billion by volume (ppbV) concentrations is demonstrated. This application note presents the results of a pilot-scale feasibility study conducted over several weeks, demonstrating the utility of SIFT-MS for maximizing production outcomes.

We asked David Light, CEO and Founder of Valisure, about his experience using SIFT-MS and how it impacted their dry shampoo safety study.  

Automated headspace-SIFT-MS analysis can classify pelleted recycled HDPE at throughputs over 230 samples per day, offering great potential for rapid screening of recycled packaging materials.

Automated SIFT-MS analysis rapidly screens paperboard packaging for a wide range of functional groups in a single analysis, assuring that the volatile emissions meet manufacturer specifications.  This application note describes a Headspace-SIFT-MS method with throughput >10X faster than traditional GC/MS methods.

Quantitative determination of volatile aldehyde residues in paperboard is readily achieved using multiple headspace extraction-SIFT-MS analysis, with an eight-fold throughput increase over the equivalent conventional analysis.

Automated SIFT-MS analysis coupled with multivariate statistical analysis provides rapid sensory screening of paperboard packaging, overcoming the low sample throughput of sensory panels.  The ability to use HS-SIFT-MS to achieve throughput of 12 samples per hour is demonstrated.

SIFT-MS provides real-time, selective, and economic analysis of challenging volatile compounds, such as residual solvents, formaldehyde, dimethylamine, and NDMA without requiring derivatization or other special handling.

Pharmaceutical and food products are susceptible to contamination from packaging, whether from polymeric materials, printing inks, or paperboard.  SIFT-MS, a high-sensitivity direct-injection mass spectrometry technique, enables risks associated with sustainable packaging alternatives to be mitigated through economical, high-throughput automated analysis (typically a 4- to 15-fold increase over GC-MS).

MHE-SIFT-MS provides rapid, matrix-independent, quantitative determination of volatile leachables in polymers and calibrates quantitative analysis based on single headspace injections.  This approach enables over 200 samples per day to be analyzed, delivering rapid and economic analysis of volatile leachables such as residual monomers.

This app note introduces the next generation of SIFT-MS, Syft Tracer^TM, which launched at Pittcon 2023.  It revolutionizes volatile impurities analysis workflows through unparalleled speed, performance stability, and reproducibility.  Learn about how this innovation to real-time trace gas detection outpaces chromatography-based methods in the analysis of challenging analytes such as formaldehyde in a PEG excipient.

This application note describes head-to-head comparison of GC-FID and SIFT-MS analyses of Class 2A and 2B residual solvents. The techniques perform similarly for linearity and repeatability, but SIFT-MS provides superior performance for accuracy and recovery. Furthermore, SIFT-MS provides greater than 11-fold increase in sample throughput and significantly reduces the time taken to report quantitative results (over six times faster for a full calibration set).

SIFT‐MS is now recognized as the most versatile analytical technique for the identification and quantification of trace gases down to the parts‐per‐trillion by volume, pptv, range. This statement is supported by the wide reach of its applications, from real‐time analysis, obviating sample collection of very humid exhaled breath, to its adoption in industrial scenarios for air quality monitoring. This review touches on the recent extensions to the underpinning ion chemistry kinetics library and the alternative challenge of using nitrogen carrier gas instead of helium. 

SIFT-MS has been widely applied to quantitative analysis of a broad range of VOCs in applications from food products to workplace safety to environmental monitoring, and most recently to pharmaceutical testing. This review surveys the applications of SIFT-MS in odor analysis and in workplace, environmental and consumer protection, with a particular focus on the complementarity of this real-time mass spectrometry analyzer to sensor technology and conventional laboratory techniques—in particular, gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS).

Join us for this webinar to learn about Syft Tracer, the latest advancement of real-time, trace gas analysis by SIFT-MS which launched at Pittcon 2023. Hear how the recent product innovations unlock analytical bottlenecks and enable faster decisions to be made in critical process steps.

Syft Tracer^TM is the latest advancement in real-time, direct injection mass spectrometry (MS) built to solve the most difficult analytical challenges faced within a variety of industries and applications.  This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data.  Syft Tracer is optimized for high-throughput environments where continuous operation is the standard.  Never miss a product or environmental contamination event again.

This application note describes how the efficiency of a MHE workflow can be significantly improved for MHE-SIFT-MS due to the stability of the technique. Formaldehyde impurity is analyzed easily and quantitatively in Gelucire excipient with this improved approach.  The time-to-result is reduced to 85 minutes for this system – six-fold faster than the conventional MHE-SIFT-MS approach.  Quantitative analysis is achieved at the throughput of 220 samples/day.

This application note describes a scenario in which Syft Tracer^TM replaces five chromatography systems and still has significant available sample capacity. SIFT-MS provides rapid, chromatography-free analysis that revolutionizes multiple workflows.

This application note describes high throughput analysis of formaldehyde in fragrances that utilizes a method of standard additions to overcome matrix effects from variable headspace compositions of the samples tested.  SIFT-MS delivers >2X faster time to data with up to 5X greater throughput than chromatographic methods. 

This application brief summarizes a scenario relevant to contract research organization (CRO) and contract drug manufacturing organization (CDMO) laboratories where multiple volatile impurity methods need to be conducted in short runs. Five analyses are considered that can be handled by one Syft Tracer but require multiple legacy, chromatography instruments. For these analyses, SIFT-MS reports the first quantitative results 2- to 12-fold faster, and has sample throughputs 3- to 17-fold higher than the conventional procedures.

The characteristic flexibility, stability, high throughput, and fast time to data of the Syft Tracer next-gen SIFT-MS instrument apply across multiple headspace approaches for diverse matrices. This application note briefly summarizes the use of (1) dissolution, (2) multiple headspace extraction (MHE), and (3) the method of standard additions, then provides a guide for identifying the appropriate headspace approach for various matrices.

This webinar demonstrates how the new, automated Syft Tracer^TM SIFT-MS platform provides a comprehensive solution to workflow challenges and can replace multiple chromatographic systems.  Learn about how combining SIFT-MS with automation provides a very flexible and high throughput solution for screening volatile impurities in pharmaceutical and consumer safety applications, revolutionizing workflows.

This application note demonstrates that SIFT-MS effectively classifies paper samples by odor intensity rating and odor descriptor, in addition to distinguishing paper composition and mill of origin. When integrated with autosamplers, SIFT-MS provides throughputs of over 220 samples per day, supporting significantly enhanced quality assurance compared to conventional human sensory panels and gas chromatography-based analyses.

This E-book describes how next gen SIFT-MS enables rapid, continuous screening of toxic volatile impurities in pharmaceutical and consumer products. This advancement to SIFT-MS delivers trace-level detection sensitivity, unparalleled performance stability, superior selectivity, and highly reproducible, quantitative data. Never miss a contamination event again. 

In this on-demand webinar, Michael McGinley, President, St. Croix Sensory, describes how SIFT-MS has advanced their ability to rapidly perform odor analysis. A variety of SIFT-MS-based odor applications correlated with conventional sensory panel assessment are presented.  Learn how Syft is Simply. Faster. for the analysis of odor compounds.

This application note investigates concentration dependence of MHE calibration in sample matrix.  Across the full range of analytes investigated in this study, MHE calibration holds for at least one order of magnitude change in sample concentration.  For analytes in the C7–C9 range, the MHE calibration applies over two orders of magnitude analyte concentration. These results mean that the MHE workflow can be applied to a wider range of samples in the matrix, further reducing calibration demand.

This application note describes how SIFT-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis can be utilized for rapid screening of pelleted virgin and recycled polypropylene using an untargeted “fingerprinting” approach. Automated headspace-SIFT-MS analysis can classify and qualify polypropylene samples at throughputs of over 230 samples per day, offering great potential for rapid screening of recycled polypropylene feedstock for FCM applications. Adoption of SIFT-MS supports product quality and enhances sustainability.

This application note describes the utility of SIFT-MS in pre-screening polymer packaging materials for volatile MOSH and MOAH compounds.  Automated SIFT-MS can characterize 12 high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) samples per hour, or 220 / day.  Headspace-SIFT-MS readily analyzes benzene at high sensitivity as part of the same analysis.

This application note surveys the application of headspace-SIFT-MS to untargeted screening of food products and ingredients, such as beer, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, and strawberry flavor mixes. Rapid quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) screening of up to 250 samples/day can be conducted using an untargeted approach.

This study evaluates a headspace-SIFT-MS approach for Polysorbate 80 products from multiple suppliers and evaluates ethylene oxide and acetaldehyde recoveries. Results confirm that the headspace-SIFT-MS procedure reliably quantifies these analytes without requiring purification of Polysorbate 80 for matrix-matching the calibration standard. Hence, headspace-SIFT-MS analysis of ethylene oxide and acetaldehyde can revolutionize existing workflows.

This application note reviews polymer analysis applications of automated headspace-SIFT-MS. Rapid quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) screening of over 220 samples/day can be conducted using targeted or untargeted analysis, while quantitative volatile impurity analysis is achieved efficiently using multiple headspace extraction (MHE)-SIFT-MS. 

Automated, direct headspace analysis using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) provides rapid and economic screening of food products, ingredients, and packaging materials. This application note describes how SIFT-MS coupled with multivariate statistical analysis provides rapid beer analysis via an untargeted “fingerprinting” approach (i.e. utilizing SIFT-MS SCAN mode). Automated headspace-SIFT-MS analysis can classify beer at throughputs of 12 samples per hour, offering great potential for rapid product screening.

In this application note, the SIFT-MS is evaluated for odor analysis at a gelatin factory, together with benchmarking of the effectiveness of an ultraviolet (UV) photolysis technology used for odor mitigation. SIFT-MS is very effective in both applications.  The high-sensitivity, direct analysis eliminates preconcentration, derivatization, and the need for analysis on multiple chromatographic columns that complicate odor analysis in gas and liquid chromatography methods.

This webinar features David Light of Valisure and includes case studies that demonstrate how SIFT-MS provides faster and more accurate analysis of volatile impurities in consumer products.  Learn how benzene has been detected in commercial products like dry shampoo and sunscreens.  

Read the application note, "High Throughput SIFT-MS Quantitative Analysis of Beer Using the Method of Standard Additions," to learn how automated headspace-SIFT-MS quantitatively analyzes VOCs in beer with throughput of 12 samples / hr and time to first result that is >2X faster than chromatographic methods. 

A rapid analysis method is needed to ensure food safety by high-throughput screening for ethylene oxide contamination. SIFT-MS is a suitable method for rapid quantification of trace amounts of EtO vapors in the headspace of food samples.  This study shows experimental data that reveals how the OH− reagent ion is suitable for overcoming product ion overlap and interferences observed with other reagent ions in this analysis. 

This talk showcases environmental and food safety applications where SIFT-MS overcomes limitations of traditional chromatographic approaches resulting in faster time to data, significantly higher throughput, and more accurate determination of product and environmental contaminants.  Mobile and fenceline environmental use cases from the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, and Korea are presented.