Abstract: This study was devised to rapidly and objectively evaluate the flavor of red sausages using an electronic nose. A total of 9 samples of three kinds of sausages were collected from three batches for each and their volatile components were identified using head space solid phase micro extraction (HS-SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Both sensory evaluation and an electronic nose were used to evaluate the flavor attributes of sausages. The ability of the electronic nose to differentiate sausages was evaluated by support vector machine (SVM). Relative odor activity value (ROAV) was used to evaluate the critical flavor compounds in different sausages. The volatile components were recognized by principal components analysis (PCA). The correlation between critical flavor components and the electronic nose was established by orthogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis (OPLS-DA). Regression models between the electronic nose and critical flavor compounds and sensory evaluation were established by stepwise regression. According to the SVM results, the electronic nose had good distinguishing ability for different kinds of sausages and different batches of the same kind of sausage. A total of 117 volatile flavor compounds were identified in all the sausages. According to the ROAV, the critical flavor substances in different sausages varied widely. Allyl mercaptan was the only critical flavor substance found in each sausage. PCA showed that different kinds of sausages were significantly different in overall flavor components. Sensory analysis showed that there were differences in the taste and flavor of different sausages, and the smoky and salty tastes were the most i mportant flavors. The OPLS-DA showed that the electronic nose sensor data showed a good correlation with the critical flavor substances; the regression models between the electronic nose and critical flavor substances and sensory attributes (R2 > 0.8, P < 0.01) indicated that the electronic nose could evaluate and predict the flavor of sausage s.

Key words: red sausage flavor, electronic nose, flavor compounds, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), relative odor activity value (ROAV), sensory evaluation