A Compendium of Food and Beverage Comparisons with Novel Benchtop GC-TOFMS System

Importance of the Topic

GC-TOFMS combines high resolution and sensitivity for volatile and semi-volatile profiling in food and beverage matrices, enabling comprehensive quality control, flavor optimization and contamination screening.

Objectives and Study Overview

This work evaluates a novel benchtop GC-TOFMS platform across diverse samples to demonstrate its dual capability for targeted screening and non-targeted discovery applications.

Methodology

Solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) was employed using a DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber for headspace sampling of fresh and dried herbs, produce, flavored beverages, candies and hops. Incubation and extraction conditions were optimized for each matrix to ensure efficient analyte collection.

Instrumental Setup

An Agilent 7890 GC coupled to a LECO Pegasus BT TOFMS with L-PAL3 autosampler was used. Key parameters included helium carrier gas at 1.0 mL/min, an Rxi-5ms column (30 m x 0.25 mm x 0.25 µm), oven program from 40°C to 300°C, and mass range 35–650 m/z at 10 spectra/s acquisition rate.

Key Results and Discussion

• Fruit tea comparison highlighted elevated furfural in sugar-containing regular tea versus diet product; key volatiles such as 3-hexen-1-ol and peach lactone showed similar levels.
• Broccoli samples revealed differential sulfur compounds, with isothiocyanates enriched in frozen processed material and other sulfur analytes more abundant in raw broccoli.
• Hops aging study demonstrated higher cis-3-hexenol in aged samples, while sesquiterpene profiles remained comparable between fresh and old hops.
• Herb analysis of basil indicated the presence of cumin aldehyde exclusively in dried samples, illustrating how dehydration alters aroma composition.
• Comparisons between strawberry candy and fresh fruit focused on lactone series, revealing distinct patterns that explain flavor differences.

Benefits and Practical Applications

The benchtop GC-TOFMS system delivers rapid and robust non-targeted profiling alongside targeted quantitation within single injections, supporting quality control, product development and authenticity testing in the food and beverage industry.

Future Trends and Potential Applications

Advancements in data deconvolution and library searching will enhance detection of coeluting compounds and trace analytes. Integration with machine learning for pattern recognition and real-time monitoring promises further improvements in process control and flavor optimization.

Conclusion

This study confirms the versatility of the Pegasus BT GC-TOFMS for comprehensive volatile analysis, combining automated non-targeted characterization and targeted screening in a compact benchtop format, thereby advancing analytical capabilities in food and beverage research.