Advances in food analysis by electronic nose

Electronic noses have been designed and utilized for a variety of different applications. Undoubtedly, among these, food analysis has gained the major attention. In fact in food analysis there is a double opportunity for electronic nose developers. The first is that the chemical patterns considered are sometimes rather complex, so the introduction of an instrument able to consider at the same time, in an easy experimental procedure, all the chemical patterns, is certainly appealing. The second aspect of food analysis concerns the wide utilization of natural olfaction and taste. Panels of well trained tasters and smellers are daily utilized to certify the goodness of foods and their fitting with the human taste. Therefore food analysis also represents a practical field where performances of natural and artificial olfaction and taste can be compared and where an electronic nose can be utilized as an essential support of the human capabilities. In this paper some key issues concerning the application of electronic noses to food analysis are examined and examples of applications, related to the electronic nose developed at the University of Rome Tor Vergata are illustrated and discussed.