AROMA CHARACTERIZATION OF DAIRY BEVERAGES ADDED WITH PINEAPPLE POWDER USING SENSORY ANALYSIS AND ELECTRONIC NOSE

The use of dehydrated fruit ingredients in foods represents a strategy to incorporate sensory attributes and improve raw material stability. Among dehydration technologies, foam mat drying (FMD) enables the production of fruit powders with potential technological applications. For pineapple, aroma is particularly relevant due to its complex volatile composition, influenced by variety, ripening, and postharvest conditions. While sensory analysis characterizes perceived aroma, electronic nose technology provides an instrumental response based on volatile compounds. Integrating these approaches may contribute to understanding the relationship between sensory perception and the aromatic profile of dairy beverages. To evaluate the association between aroma attributes obtained by the grid method and electronic nose response patterns in dairy beverages supplemented with pineapple powder. Dairy beverages were formulated with 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5%, and 10.0% pineapple powder obtained through FMD, using albumin as a foaming agent and pectin as a stabilizer. Sensory characterization was conducted with 36 participants using the grid method, in which pairs of coded samples were evaluated based on sensory similarities and dissimilarities. The volatile profile was characterized using the HERACLES Neo electronic nose, based on ultrafast gas chromatography. The data were subjected to multivariate analysis and related to the resulting sensory attributes. Eight aroma attributes were identified, with pineapple, sweet, and milk being the most prominent. The 2.5% formulation showed a stronger association with milk aroma, whereas the 10.0% formulation was associated with pineapple and sweet aromas. The electronic nose discriminated among the formulations, with PCA explaining 67.4% of the total variance and evidencing separation among samples. Among the volatile compounds identified, 1-hydroxy-2-propanone, α-ionone, and δ-undecalactone stood out, corresponding to pineapple/sweet, fruity/sweet, and dairy characteristics, respectively. The integrated approach evidenced correspondence between sensory attributes and the volatile profile of the beverages, demonstrating the potential of electronic nose technology as a complementary tool for sensory characterization.