Effect of gamma-irradiation on color, pungency, and volatiles of Korean red pepper powder (Capsicum annuum L.) was investigated. Red pepper powder, vacuum-packaged in a polyethyleneր ր ր ր րpolypropylene bag, was gamma-irradiated up to 7 kGy. An irradiation dose of 7 kGy reduced the population of mesophilic bacteria and fungi effectively without affecting major quality factors. Pungency of irradiated red pepper powder was not changed based on the amount of capsanoids by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and the Scoville sensory score. The red color of irradiated pepper powder was not significantly different from that of the control, judged from the capsanthin content by HPLC and color assessment using spectrophotpmetric (American Spice Trade Assn. units) and colorimetric measurements (Hunter a values). Further, the sensory evaluation showed no significant difference in pungent odor and off-odor between nonirradiated control and irradiated red pepper powder. However, when headspace volatiles of gamma-irradiated red pepper powder were evaluated by gas chromatographyր ր ր ր ր mass spectrometry with solid-phase microextraction and electronic nose with metal oxide sensors, the profiles of odor were classified into irradiated dose levels of 0, 3, 5, and 7 kGy by principal component analysis and multivariate analysis of variance. Such a difference of odor might result from the disappearance of some volatiles, such as hexanoic acid and tetramethyl-pyrazine, and the appearance of 1,3-di-tert-butylbenzene during irradiation. Moreover, it appears that the irradiation of packaging material induced a formation of 1,3-di-tertbutylbenzene, which migrated into the red pepper powder.

Activated charcoal was applied to remove the volatile compounds (VOCs) and an off‐odor of irradiated ground pork. The ground pork, packaged with the charcoal in a teabag, was irradiated at 5 and 10 kGy and the effects of the charcoal on the microbial and physicochemical qualities of the irradiated ground pork were evaluated. Results showed that the packaging using charcoal did not affect the microbiological and physicochemical quality but reduced the off‐odor of irradiated ground pork. By using an electronic nose system and a solid‐phase microextraction gas chromatograph/mass spectrometry analysis, the VOCs of the irradiated pork packaged with charcoal were significantly lower than those packaged without charcoal or reduced to below the limit of detection. The results of the present study imply that packaging using charcoal effectively eliminates the VOCs and an off‐odor of irradiated meats. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Irradiation has been known to be the best method to eliminate microbial contamination of food, including meat and meat products. However, irradiation induces a lipid oxidation in the presence of oxygen and characteristic off‐odor volatile compounds in meat. These are considered as major defects in irradiated meat for practical application in industry. The aim of this study was to remove the volatile components and an off‐odor of irradiated ground pork using activated charcoal. By using an electronic nose system and solid‐phase microextraction gas charomatograph/mass spectrometry, the volatile components of the irradiated pork packaged with charcoal were significantly lower than those packaged without charcoal or reduced to below the limit of detection. By the confirmation of sensory study, it can be concluded that packaging using charcoal effectively eliminates the volatile components and off‐odor of irradiated meat and this can be applied for related industry.