PSVIII-23 - Volatile flavor profile of wet pet food influences canine and feline palatability performance

Abstract: Volatile flavor compounds as they relate to canine and feline palatability of wet pet food has yet to be established in the industry. The objectives of this study were to determine volatile compounds in wet pet food in diets that performed differently in palatability feeding studies. Five pairs of wet pet food diets (n=3 feline; n=2 canine) were obtained from separate manufacturing facilities and were selected based on palatability preference (P < 0.05, n=3) or palatability parity (P > 0.05, n=2). Volatile compounds were extracted using solid phase microextraction and analyzed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Diets were analyzed in triplicate. Significance was determined at P < 0.05. Alcohols, aldehydes, and hydrocarbons comprised the main groups, and 58 total volatile compounds were identified. 1-octen-3-ol, an artifact of lipid oxidation, was found in all diets and was consistently greater (P < 0.05) in diets that were less preferred in palatability testing. A feline diet less preferred in palatability performance had increased concentrations (P < 0.05) of volatile compounds such as furfuryl alcohol and 2-pentyl furan, derived from both the Maillard reaction and thermal lipid degradation pathways, respectively. Conversely, a canine diet with palatability preference was greater (P < 0.05) in lipid degradation products such as 2-pentyl furan, 1-hexanol, and p-xylene. Overall, one set of diets had an increased (P < 0.05) production of Maillard reaction products including Strecker aldehydes, furans, and pyrazines whereas lipid degradation products were predominant in the second set. In conclusion, these data generally showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in Maillard reaction and lipid degradation products in each pair of diets. Future studies are warranted to better understand how the volatile compound profile impacts palatability for canines and felines. Taken together, the results of this study suggest that volatile compound profile analysis could be utilized to further elucidate influencers of pet food palatability preferences.