Relationship between odour-active compounds and flavour perception in meat from lambs fed different diets

To identify the most important aroma compounds in 20 d-aged meat from castrated heavy Corriedale lambs fed one of four diets, grilled loin samples were subjected to a dynamic headspace-solid phase extraction (DHS-SPE) and gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O). Most of the important odorants were aldehydes and ketones. To evaluate the effect of finishing diet on carbonyl compounds, a derivatization of the headspace carbonyls using o-[(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl)methyl]hydroxylamine hydrochloride (PFBHA) and analysis by GC–MS was conducted. Diet did not affect aliphatic saturated aldehydes. The meat from lambs finished on pastures, without a concentrate supplement, had very low concentrations of lipid-derived unsaturated aldehydes and ketones and Strecker aldehydes, possibly because of the protective effect of antioxidants that occur in the diet naturally. Lamb flavour was related to the concentration of heptan-2-one and oct-1-en-3-one, but rancid or undesirable flavours were not related to the abundance of carbonyl compounds.