Scalping of ethyloctanoate and linalool from a model wine into plastic films

The scalping of aroma compounds may affect the sensory properties of wines packed in plastic, such as those commercialized in aseptic multilayer packages, by reducing the intensity and changing the character of the original aroma. Up to date, no study has focused on the scalping of wine aroma compounds. The present study aimed at determining the sorption kinetics of two wine volatiles, chosen on the basis of their low threshold and high odor activity value, in linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and cast polypropylene (CPP), from a model solution simulating wine composition. The experimental data were satisfactorily fitted by the Fick’s Second Law, as to prove an ideal Fickian transport diffusional character of the phenomenon. Sorption was determined by means of MHS-SPME, a technique recently developed to quantify volatile compounds from solid matrices. Ethyloctanoate was sorbed more into CPP than LLDPE, and at much higher extent than linalool, as a consequence of the different polarity of the molecules. The amount of ethyloctanoate lost at the steady state determines a significant variation of its odor activity value and the imbalance of the original aroma composition.