Comparison of Aroma Characteristics and Main Aroma Substances in Three Infant Formulas from Different Stage

Infant formula has widely used as infant food besides human milk. The aroma characteristics determine the sensory quality of this product and the purchase intention of consumers to a great extent. It was generally developed infant formula products into 1-stage (for babies at 0~6 months), 2-stage (6~12 months) and 3-stage (12~24 months). In this study, a combination of quantitative description analysis (QDA), gas chromatography olfactory mass spectrometry (GC-O-MS) and gas chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry (GC-Orbitrap-MS) was used to study the aroma characteristics and the aroma compounds composition in infant formulas with three different stages. The results showed that, there were significant differences in the aroma profiles of different stages of milk powder. There was a significant difference (P<0.01) in 'milky', 'fishy', 'beany', 'over off-flavor', the four attributes, and a significant difference (P<0.05) in 'sweety' and 'cereal' the two attributes. A total of 24 key compounds were identified by GC-O-MS analysis, including 15 aldehydes, 4 ketones, 4 alcohols and 1 furan. 47 compounds including 18 aldehydes, 9 ketones and 6 alcohols were identified by using GC-Orbitrap-MS, covering all the 24 components identified by GC-O-MS. The contents of 41 out of the 47 compounds were significantly different among the three samples studied. This study would provide a basis for controlling and improving the sensory quality of infant formula.