abstract
Guaiacol is a profoundly negative taint/off-flavour produced by the increasingly common microbial contamination
of fruit juices with Alicyclobacillus spp. The objectives of this study included: determining sensory
thresholds for guaiacol in orange juice (OJ), developing an analytical method whose detection limits
were equivalent to sensory thresholds and determining levels of Alicyclobacillus spp. that would produce
detectable levels of guaiacol. A 12 member trained panel was used to establish guaiacol detection and
recognition thresholds. Guaiacol ortho and retro nasal detection thresholds in OJ were 0.70 and
0.53 lg/l respectively. Odour recognition threshold was 2.0 lg/l. A SPME GC–MS Selected Ion Monitoring
(SIM) procedure was optimised to achieve analytical detection limits of 0.5 lg/l. Optimum guaiacol
detection limit was achieved using only responses from m/z 109 and 124. Ion ratios (m/z 109/124) and
linear retention index value matching were used to confirm the identification of guaiacol. Quantification
was achieved using peak areas from standard guaiacol additions in orange juice between 0.5 and 100 lg/
l. Alicyclobacillus growth of 2.2 log CFU/ml in OJ produced just detectable levels (0.7 lg/l) of guaiacol.