Taints and Off-Flavours

The taint and off-flavour evaluation service offered by the Sensory Department at RSSL, can be used to determine:

• Whether a change in packaging will taint a food product on storage, so as to highlight potential stability issues prior to launch
• If an insert of toy could impart a taint
• The source of an off-flavour working along site with RSSL's investigative analytical laboratories

Taints tend to be present at trace levels in foods and are not usually detected by the majority of consumers.  However, if a taint problem is present, a handful of consumers may be able to detect it and, therefore it may have an adverse effect on the reputation/brand of the product.

Sensory assessors are trained to recognise the most common taints and off-flavours, for example, polychloroanisoles, polybromoanisoles, guaiacol and trichlorophenol working alongside RSSL's analytical laboratories ensures the speedy and accurate identification of taint compounds.

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