Identification of key odorant compounds in starch-based polymers intended for food contact materials

Biopolymers used for food contact materials must be evaluated in order to ensure food safety and quality. In this work, the aroma profile of starch-based packaging materials, presented as pellets and films has been characterized. Headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) technique and gas chromatography coupled to both mass spectrometry and a sniffing port (GC-MS-O) were used for identification. In total, 35 odorant compounds were detected. The results showed that aldehydes were the odorants with the highest aromatic impact in starch-based films. Eight odorant compounds, such as trimethylamine, 1-octen-3-one, sotolon, (Z) and (E)-2-nonenal, p-vinylguaiacol, eugenol and 1-undecanol, defined as aroma-impact compounds, obtained modified frequency values (MF%) above 60% in at least 3 out of 4 films. A sensory panel evaluated the toasted, sweet/fruity, green, flower, distasteful, fat and spices notes in the films and it was observed that the quality of all samples decreased when the toasted and spices notes increased.