Measurement of flavor-soy protein interactions in low-moisture solid food systems by inverse gas chromatography

Selective binding of flavor compounds by soy proteins can lead to persistence of off-flavors and/or flavor fade in formulated soy products. Currently, there is limited information concerning binding of volatile flavor compounds by soy proteins in low-moisture foods. An inverse gas chromatographic (IGC) method was developed and applied to study the influence of flavor compound chemical structure and environmental relative humidity (RH) on flavor-soy protein interactions in solid food systems. Binding of selected buttery flavor compounds to wheat versus soy-containing crackers was measured to evaluate the potential of using this technique to measure flavor binding in real foods. Sensory evaluation also was conducted to further evaluate the possibility of using IGC data to predict the sensory impact of flavor binding.