Novel multi-gas chromatography–olfactometry device and software for the identification of odour-active compounds

The aim of this work was to devise a novel fully computerised chromatography–olfactometry system where eight sniffers detect volatile compounds obtained from a single chromatographic separation. The technical options taken to implement this system are described in detail. The new methods and software developed and applied to analyse data obtained by gas chromatography–olfactometry and mass spectrometry (GC–O/MS) are presented. We found that 46 odorous zones could be detected by a panel of eight sniffers during the 35 min of the analysis of the volatile compounds extracted from a cheese by purge-and-trap. Synchronisation of olfactometry and mass spectrometry data enabled us to propose 44 structures to account for 44 out of these 46 odorous zones.