ASTM_DS48-1973.pdf

COMPILATION OF ODOR AND TASTE THRESHOLD VALUES DATA Sponsored by Committee E-18 on Sensory Evaluation of Materials and Products AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS Edited by W.H.Stahl McCormick&Co.,Inc.,Baltimore,Md.ASTM DATA SERIES DS 48 List price$25.00 05-048000-36 ANNIVERSARY F AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS 1916 Race Street,Philadelphia,Pa.19103 BY AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR TESTING AND MATERIALS 1973 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number:73-75377 NOTE The Society is not responsible,as a body,for the statements and opinions advanced in this publication.Printed in Baltimore,Md.May 1973 Foreword This report is truly the result of a committee effort.The editor would like to express his sincere appreciation for the efforts of the very many members of ASTM Committee E-18,too numerous to list separately who,over the several years of preparation for this publication,have given freely of their time.A significant num-ber of the compounds reported on have been given to us from the personal files of Dr.Birger Drake of the Swedish Institute for Food Preservation Research.In particular,he would like to extend special thanks to Mr.Harry McDaniel of the Proctor and Gamble Company for his extensive help in the keypunching of this information.Prof.John Powers of the University of Georgia was particularly help-ful in assisting in the writing of the introduction.Special thanks should go to four individuals outside of Committee E-18.Mr.Charles F.Eason of Assess,Inc.,Bethesda,Md.,has volunteered his time and has been the prime mover in programming and formating the computerization of this compilation.Mrs.Elizabeth Shields,Librarian for McCormick and Company has given much of her time in the many manuscript revisions and typing,and Dr.W.G.Galetto of the same company has spent many hours in coordinating and checking the data as it came piecemeal from the computer operation.Special thanks to Mr.William J.Wiswesser,the originator of the Wiswesser Line Notation for Chemical Nomenclature.He gave unstintingly of his time to translate our threshold chemicals to a line notation which has allowed us to build flexibility in a computer search that no other system would allow.We also thank him for his many suggestions,born out of his long experience in this field,that we have found extremely useful and undoubtedly has served to improve our compilation.Related ASTM Publications Basic Principles of Sensory Evaluation,STP 433(1968),$5.75(04-433000-36)Manual on Sensory Testing Methods,STP 434(1968),$4.24(04-434000-36)Correlation of Subjective-Objective Methods in the Study of Odors and Taste,STP 440(1968),$5.75(04-440000-36)Review of Correlation of Objective-Subjective Methods in the Study of Odors and Tastes,STP 451(1969),$2.00(04-451000-36)Contents Introduction 1 Description of the Compilation 3 References(Explanation of CODEN)5 Table 1Alphabetical Listing 7 Table 2Data-Bibliography Listing 19 Table 3Permuted Listing 175 Questionnaire 251 Introduction Sensory problems are increasingly coming to the fore as man attempts to improve his food and stem the tide of water and air pollution.Basic data need to be col-lated and new knowledge acquired.One purpose of this publication is to tabulate the threshold values of odor and taste substances.The compilation also serves as the first step in determining gaps in knowledge.Recent analytical advances such as gas chroma-tography and mass spectrometry have permitted the isolation and identification of compounds at rates and at concentration levels scarcely dreamed of a decade ago,but,nonetheless,man often is capable of respond-ing to substances at even greater dilution levels.This,however,is not an irresolvable problem.Through suit-able concentration means,the odor or the taste sub-stance can be generally brought within the range of present analytical methods,but one has to be able to relate the chemical determination back to the level detectable by man.Knowledge of threshold values is thus of paramount importance.In the control of water and air pollution,threshold determinations are used to evaluate the effectiveness of different treatments and to establish the level of odor control necessary to make the product acceptable.Therefore,threshold data may be incorporated into regulatory specifications to define permissible odor limits,for example,from diesel-powered equipment or industrial waste discharges.The flavor of foods is generally a complex mixture of compounds.The first step in evaluating the impor-tance of different components is to obtain information about the threshold value of the pure material.Data on threshold values are widely scattered in the literature.Probably even more is unpublished.The col-lecting of available data into one monograph for com-parative purposes should serve two purposes,aside from those already mentioned.Hopefully,those possessing unpublished data will make it available either through publication or submission to an agency such as Com-mittee E-18 of t