JELLINEK and STANSBY: MASKING FLAVORS IN FISH OILS 



Reduction in the List of Potential Masking Materials 



The number of potential flavoring materials 

 for masking the objectionable flavor components 

 in the menhaden oil, based upon the preliminary 

 screening tests, was too large to subject them 

 all to a large-scale consumer-type test and there- 

 fore had to be decreased. The most promising 

 flavoring materials for masking were: 



Synthetics and isolates: 

 Anethol 



Ethyl phenyl acetate 

 Ethyl salicylate 

 cis-hexen-3-ol-l 

 Methyl salicylate 



Essential oils: 

 Anise oil, U.S.P. 

 Cassia oil 



Cinnamon oil, U.S.P. 

 Lemon oil 

 Orange oil, U.S.P. 

 Root beer oil 



Imitation flavoring compositions: 

 Blood Orange Flavor 

 Butter Aroma 

 Cherry Bouquet 

 Fruity Bouquet 

 Imitation Honey Flavor 

 Imitation Lemon Juice Flavor *51.124A 

 Lemon Mint Flavor 

 Lime Mint Flavor 

 Orange Mint Flavor 

 Tetrarome Orange 

 Imitation Oil Rum #017 

 Imitation Oil Wild Cherry #12009 

 Tutti Frutti Oil 



Because using more than a dozen flavoring 

 materials in the large-scale consumer tests was 

 not desirable, we considered limiting further 

 the number of flavoring materials for additional 

 study. The results of this phase of the exam- 

 ination permitted us to eliminate additional ma- 

 terials, based upon the following observations. 



Ethyl phenyl acetate was described as per- 

 fumelike by some consumers and was therefore 

 disliked by them. 



Ethyl salicylate was partly liked, partly dis- 



liked by diff"erent panel members. The scores for 

 methyl salicylate were higher. 



Cis-hexen-ol-1 tested in samples stored at 40° F 

 and — 20° F for 8 weeks did not result in observ- 

 able rancidity. The samples still had a green- 

 grassy character. The control sample stored at 

 40° F was rancid; the control sample stored 

 at — 20° F was almost odorless and was faint 

 cucumber green in flavor. 



Even though cis-hexen-3-ol-l masked the oily 

 feeling and rancidity, it was not liked by the 

 panel. 



Cassia oil and cinnamon oil have much the 

 same flavor; cinnamon oil was therefore arbi- 

 trarily selected for further experiments. 



To reduce the number of fruity flavors, we 

 made a preliminary consumer test. From six 

 flavors — Blood Orange, Lemon Juice, Lemon 

 Mint, Lime Mint, Orange Mint, and Tetrarome 

 Orange — Lemon Juice Flavor was chosen for 

 further experiments. 



Fruity Bouquet with its candy, fruitlike flavor 

 was disliked by some panel members who de- 

 scribed it as being perfumelike. 



Cherry Bouquet not only was outstanding in 

 the masking properties of rancidity and oily 

 feeling but received the highest rating in the 

 consumer test. 



Only flavoring materials allowed by the U.S. 

 Food and Drug Administration could be con- 

 sidered. The Cherry Bouquet and Fruity Bou- 

 quet are perfume compositions and are not per- 

 mitted as food additives. 



Butter Aroma was not satisfactory. As was 

 already experienced with acetoin, samples flav- 

 ored with a butter-aroma composition turned 

 rancid faster in the storage test at 40° F than 

 did the control. The 40° F sample was definitely 

 rancid after 8 weeks of storage, although the 

 samples held below freezing were not. 



Imitation Honey Flavor was too artificial in fla- 

 vor and therefore disliked by most of the panel. 



Masking of Fish Oil with Pronounced Burnt 

 Flavor 



As was described in Materials, menhaden oil 

 was refined both by the regular three-stage (clay 

 bleaching, molecular distillation, silica gel) 



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