Headspace volatile markers of Sandesh, a chhana-based delicacy stored at elevated temperatures

Headspace volatile markers of Sandesh stored at elevated temperatures

Abstract

The present study explores the headspace volatiles of Sandesh (dessert made from heat acid coagulated milk) that contribute to the product quality during storage. Sandesh is packaged in clear and dark-coloured glass containers and stored at 30 °C and 45 °C in an incubator. Sandesh quality during the storage was estimated by biochemical, microbiological, and sensory analysis. The concentration of head-space volatiles was simultaneously determined by employing headspace solid-phase micro-extraction coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS). The identified volatiles were pertaining to various functional groups, which include acids, alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, alkanes, alkenes, amines, amides, esters, and ethers. The obtained datasets were analysed for multivariate statistics to identify the potential quality markers. As a result, the acid group was suggested as a headspace freshness marker, while spoilage markers were identified as alkanes, alcohols, and ketones. From this study, the headspace key spoilage markers were identified as alkanes, alcohols, and ketones, which consist of 1-hexanol, 2-ethyl-; 1-pentanol; 1-hexanol; 3-aminomethyl-3,5,5-trimethylcyclohexanol trans-; 1-propanol, 2-amino-, (.+/-.); pentane, 2-methyl; hexane, 2,4-dimethyl-; hexane, 3-methyl; n-hexane; acetone; 2-heptanone; 2-pentanone. The obtained volatile markers are essential to develop intelligent packaging systems for monitoring the product’s quality.