Bromophenol Flavour Standard

What is Bromophenol Flavour?

Bromophenol flavour refers to a group of brominated phenol compounds that create sharp, unpleasant, and chemical-like taints in beverages. These compounds are not naturally desirable—they are considered off-flavours that can compromise the taste, aroma, and overall quality of drinks such as:

– Beer
– Bottled water
– Soft drinks

The flavour threshold for bromophenol typically ranges from 70 to 230 ng/L, depending on the beverage type and storage conditions. Even at very low concentrations, it can be detected by trained tasters.

What Causes Bromophenol Flavour?

Bromophenol flavour taints are caused by contamination from brominated compounds. These compounds can leach into beverages during production, packaging, or storage. Common sources include:

– Fire-retardant-treated materials such as paint, wood, or paper.
– Recycled cardboard packaging, which may contain brominated compounds.
– Contaminated plastic packaging or storage environments.

These sources introduce chemical taints that can compromise the sensory quality of beverages. Identifying and addressing these contamination points is vital for ensuring product integrity.

Using the Bromophenol Flavour Standard for Sensory Training

The Bromophenol Flavour Standard is a professional training tool that helps beverage companies:

– Train sensory panels to confidently detect bromophenol and related off-flavours
– Standardise quality assurance processes across production lines
– Identify packaging-related taints early, before products reach consumers

With FlavorActiV’s GMP Flavour Standards, including the Bromophenol GMP Flavour Standard, you ensure consistency, accuracy, and compliance with global quality guidelines.

How to Recognise Bromophenol Flavour: Sensory Terms

Trained tasters often describe bromophenol flavour with the following sensory references:
– Inky
– Electric fire / burnt electronics
– Old TV set / electrical equipment
– Museum-like
– Heavy chemical / medicinal
– Brominated phenols

These descriptors help panels communicate and log taint detection with precision.

What are the Professional Applications of the Bromophenol Flavour Standard?

The bromophenol flavour standard is used by:

– Breweries & soft drink manufacturers – to monitor packaging and storage quality
– Water treatment and bottling companies – to ensure taint-free drinking water
– Sensory scientists and quality assurance teams – for training, benchmarking, and calibration
– Research & development labs – to study off-flavours and improve packaging choices

By including bromophenol in your flavour library, your team can respond faster to contamination risks and maintain consumer trust.

Other Information

Beer Flavour Wheel Number: within the 0500 range (no specific number).

Flavour levels: This flavour can occur at many different levels.

Our Bromophenol flavour standard is one of many different brominated phenols that can occur. It is intended as a general representation of the flavour of these taints. In addition, we have other brominated phenols in our flavour standard range, which are available upon request.

This Bromophenol Flavour Standard is essential for beverage producers, quality assurance teams, and sensory professionals looking to sharpen their off-flavour recognition capabilities. By incorporating this training tool, you can ensure faster identification of packaging-related taints and uphold beverage quality across your production lines.