Sensory odour profiling and lipid oxidation status of fish oil and microencapsulated fish oil

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the suitability of defined odour attributes for the sensory evaluation of bulk fish oil and reconstituted microencapsulated fish oil as well as the active modification of the sensory profile during storage. Common attributes previously described for bulk fish oil (fishy, metallic, pungent, green notes) proved to be suitable for the sensory evaluation of reconstituted microencapsulated fish oil. Additional attributes were identified in dependence on the bulk fish oil processing (sweet/biscuit-like) and of constituents of the microcapsule carrier matrix (seasoning-like). Reconstituted sodium caseinate-based microcapsules exhibited a lower fishy odour during storage than did n-octenylsuccinate-derivatised starch-based microcapsules, probably due to the oxidative status. Flavour binding of caseinate may be of minor importance in reconstituted microencapsulated fish oil. Improvement of the sensory profile was achieved by the addition of an odour-masking compound (β-cyclodextrin) or flavouring (vanillin and apple flavour).