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Abstract

Mead, a fermented beverage made from bee honey and water, is gaining renewed attention among both producers and consumers. Despite its ancient origins, the detailed molecular understanding of its aroma has remained largely unexplored, until now. This presentation introduces the first sensomic investigation of mead, applying modern flavoromics to identify and track the key odor-active compounds throughout its production. Twelve model meads were produced under controlled conditions to assess the impact of honey variety, fermentation method, and aging. Honey variety had the strongest influence on aroma, while spontaneous fermentation led to increased production of fruity and off-note volatiles compared to the more consistent and balanced profile achieved with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A 12-month aging process significantly reduced both desirable and undesirable volatiles, highlighting its key role in aroma modulation. To understand the underlying mechanisms, we combined untargeted volatilomics, quantification of odor-active compounds, and flow cytometry across production stages. This integrated approach revealed clear correlations between microbial dynamics and aroma compound formation, providing novel insights into how fermentation strategies shape the sensory profile of mead. This work illustrates how traditional mead-making can benefit from modern sensomic tools, enabling producers to better understand and control flavor development. The findings support a more standardized and innovation driven approach to crafting high quality, aroma optimized meads.

Biography

I am a professor at the Poznan University of Life Sciences in Poland, in the Faculty of Food Sciences and Nutrition. I am a specialist in food chemistry with a focus on flavor creation in food, and analytical techniques such as GC/MS and olfactometry. My research centers around the identification of odor-active compounds in various food products, studying how technological processes affect their formation and contribute to the final aroma of the product. My work integrates instrumental analysis with sensory analysis to provide a comprehensive understanding of flavor and aroma development in food.