INTERACTIONS BETWEEN REACTIVE AROMA COMPOUNDS FROM MODEL CITRUS JUICEWITH POLYPROPYLENE PACKAGING FILM

Polypropylene film for food packaging was immersed into an acidic mode l solution containing 10 aroma compounds (e.g. pinenes, limonene, citr als). Sorption was determined by the use of two complementary methods: solvent extraction and multiple headspace extraction. A complete mass balance of the aroma compounds considering their reactivities in acid ic condition was established. It appears that sorption protects the mo st reactive terpenes from degradation and thus minimizes the formation of compounds which could behave as off-flavors (e.g. alpha-terpineol) . The consequences of this reactivity on the evaluation of the partiti on coefficient of aroma between juice and packaging are discussed.