Reverse osmosis for the production of aromatic concentrates from mussel cooking juices: a technical assessment

An industrial mussel cooking juice was concentrated by reverse osmosis (11-fold) after a desalination step by electrodialysis in order to produce a natural aroma concentrate and a clean water stream. The concentrate quality was evaluated by a trained sensory panel (triangular tests, sensory profiles) and by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS). About 34% of the aroma compounds were lost, inducing a slight modification of the sensory profile of the concentrate compared to the unprocessed mussel cooking juice one. This modification was not obstructing because this concentrate can be used in industrial recipe with a routine rate (10-15%) for natural aroma concentrates. In addition, as a result of this process the polluting load of the permeate was strongly reduced. The chemical oxygen demand was below the discharge standards.