Abstract: Food flavor is an important factor which affects consumer purchase intention, and the formation of flavor perception is affected by multiple senses such as olfactory and gustatory sense. The application of the interaction between odor and taste in food flavor improvement has become one of the most concerned new directions of food flavor regulation. On this basis, this paper analyzes the main formation pathway and mechanism of the cross-modal perceptual interaction between odor and taste from the neurobiological perspective, and summarizes the main methods used to research the cross-modal perceptual interaction from the aspects of static sensory analysis and dynamic sensory analysis. Finally, the effects of odor substances on taste perception (sweet, salty, bitter, umami and sour) and the effects of taste substances on olfactory perception are reviewed based on relevant literature and cases, in order to provide new ideas for the regulation of flavor quality during food processing.

Key words: odor; taste; flavor perception pathway; cross-modal perceptual interaction; sensory analysis