Abstract: With the continuous improvement of living standards, people are concerned about not only whether foods are tasty or not, but also the combination of health elements and good flavor. Food flavor components are not only important factors in sensory quality, but also key indicators of the nutritional level of foods. At present, the traditional methods to evaluate and predict food flavor components are time-consuming and labor-intensive, and unable to handle large amounts of data. In contrast, machine learning (ML), the core of artificial intelligence, has incomparable advantages over traditional analytical techniques in distinguishing differences and finding commonalities, and has found good application in the field of food flavor analysis. In this context, this paper focuses on the current research status of ML in the field of food flavor, and introduces the principles and advantages of commonly used ML methods, as well as their latest applications and prospects in food flavor prediction and regulation. It also focuses on the advantages and future trends of modern intelligent sensory evaluation techniques combined with ML in the field of food flavor analysis, with a view to providing new ideas and theoretical foundations for food flavor analysis and prediction.

Key words: machine learning; food flavor; flavor analysis and prediction; intelligent sensory evaluation techniques; research progress