Chapter 9 - Food Aroma Compounds

Aroma compounds are one of the main food sensory characteristics that impact the consumers’ preferences and acceptance. Such compounds can be naturally present in foods as a consequence of physiological and/or enzymatic processes, as well as generated by microorganisms during fermentation processes. However, aroma compounds can also be produced and/or modified due to chemical, biochemical, or microbial changes during their extraction, processing, and storage, thus affecting the overall food quality, sensory profile, and shelf-life. During processing, food aroma compounds are generated by enzymatic activity, fermentation, lipid oxidation, and thermal reactions (Maillard reaction, caramelization). While thermal technologies will warrant food safety, they will also accelerate the aforementioned chemical reactions and thus induce several modifications in the macroand microcomponents. Heat-generated flavors constitute in fact the most abundant group of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in food and some of them can be actually used as process markers. Recent advances in the food industry have led to the development of new processing technologies (e.g., nonthermal technologies, nanotechnology), which can differently affect food aroma compounds depending on the food composition and microstructure. This chapter provides a description of the main natural and technology-derived food aroma compounds, with a focus on the novel extraction and delivery strategies, as well as the effects of innovative food processing technologies on the food aroma profile.