Odor problems in the food industry

Abstract

With growing population, industrialization, and urbanization, the odor problem has been assuming objectionable proportion. Rapidly growing industrialization has aggravated the problem through odorous industrial operations. Undesirable odors contribute to air quality concerns and affect human lifestyles. On the economic front, loss of property value near odor-causing operations/industries and odorous environment is partly a consequence of offensive odor. Odor is undoubtedly the most complex of all the air pollution problems. Malodors generated by the food industry vary enormously since they can be generated during the production, processing, or even in the waste water treatment areas of the plant. In general, odor can be defi ned as the "perception of smell" or in scientific terms as the "organoleptic attribute perceptible by the olfactory organ on sniffing certain volatile substances" (ISO 5492:1992). Whether pleasant or unpleasant, odors are induced by inhaling airborne volatile organics or inorganics. Unlike conventional air pollutants, odor has distinctly different characteristics, which, to an extent, can be comparable with noise pollution given that similar to noise, nuisance is the primary effect of odor on people. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.