Off-odors in materials, food, beverages, consumer goods, etc., are a significant concern globally. They lead to consumer complaints, a perception of inferior quality, brand damage, and adverse publicity. Complaints and a damaged reputation can be extremely costly to the manufacturer and can diminish brand value. 

The compounds responsible for off-odors present an analytical challenge since they generally have low odor thresholds (easy to detect by the nose but difficult to identify with standard analytical detectors) and are usually present in complex matrices. Sensory Directed Analysis (SDA) provides the means to target off-odors by employing gas chromatographic separation with simultaneous olfactory and mass spectral detection. 
The ability to smell individual sensory-active compounds and determine their identity is crucial to troubleshooting and mitigating off-odor complaints.