Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry

Gas Chromatography-Olfactometry (GC-O) combines the separation power of gas chromatography with human olfactory perception to identify which volatile compounds in a food sample contribute to its aroma. Developed by Acree and colleagues in the 1990s, GC-O allows researchers to bypass the human nose's inability to consciously identify which of many simultaneous odors they are perceiving, replacing the 'olfactory bulb' with a trained human panelist.