Syft Application Talks 10: From Mold Worms to Fake Honey: Using SIFT-MS to Improve Food Quality

From Mold Worms to Fake Honey: Using SIFT-MS to Improve Food QualityProf. Sheryl Barringer, PhD, Chair, Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus OH, USA

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.

Professor Sheryl Barringer is the Chair of Food Science and Technology at The Ohio State University. She conducts ground-breaking research in the measurement of volatiles in the oral cavity in real time, using SIFT-MS. Her work on garlic breath deodorization by milk was republished in dozens of popular sources, including CNN. She documented enzymatic generation of (Z)-3-hexenal by lipoxygenase during chewing of tomatoes, and varietal differences in volatiles among different cultivars of tomatoes and strawberries. This work provides a practical understanding of volatile behavior in the mouth. Dr. Barringer also has also studied volatile formation in-line during processing, including her work on varietal-dependent formation of volatiles during cashew roasting, which allowed companies to use varieties to produce the same color and flavor as the expensive varieties.