José A. Piornos
General information
Researcher
FFOPP - Flavour, Food Oral Processing, & Perception
Job
Research scientist INRAE
- Chemical Engineer (2013), University of Murcia (Spain)
- Master’s in Engineering Sciences, specialisation in Biotechnology (2016), University of La Frontera (Chile)
- PhD in Food & Nutritional Sciences (2020), University of Reading (United Kingdom)
Activities
Research theme
My research focuses on understanding the reasons behind the smell and taste of foods through a chemical approach. I work on the identification of aroma compounds in foods and how they are formed during food processing. Moreover, I investigate how the food components can interact with flavour molecules, thereby modulating their release and their perception by consumers. The role of the food components is very important in designing new foods or modifying a recipe, such as reducing alcohol in drinks, reducing sugar or fat, substituting meat proteins for plant-sourced proteins, etc.
In my research, I combine various chemical analytical techniques, including GC-FID, GC-MS and PTR-MS, alongside sensory evaluation and olfactometry (GC-O). Additionally, I use mathematical QSAR (quantitative structure-activity relationships) modelling to establish correlations between the structure of an aroma molecule and its properties, such as detection threshold.
Furthermore, I teach courses on flavour formation in foods at the Institut Agro Dijon and sensory science at the Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin.
Key words
Flavour chemistry, aroma release, aroma/matrix interactions, analytical chemistry, sensory evaluation, modelling
Important publications
- Piornos JA, Koussissi E, Balagiannis DP, Brouwer E, Parker JK (2023). Alcohol-free and low alcohol beers: Aroma chemistry and sensory characteristics. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 22(1), 233-259. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03839256
- Flores M, Piornos JA (2021). Fermented meat sausages and the challenge of their plant-based alternatives: A comparative review on aroma-related aspects. Meat Science, 182, 108636. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03805625
- Piornos JA, Kanter JP, Balagiannis DP, Koussissi E, Bekkers A, Vissenaekens J, Grootes BJ, Brouwer E, Parker JK (2021). Effect of malt kilning temperature on the concentration of (E)-β-damascenone in malt, mashing and wort boiling in the brewing process. 16th Weurman Flavour Research Symposium, May 2021, Dijon, France. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03806274
- Piornos JA, Balagiannis DP, Methven L, Koussissi E, Brouwer E, Parker JK (2020). Elucidating the Odor-Active Aroma Compounds in Alcohol-Free Beer and Their Contribution to the Worty Flavor. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 68 (37), 10088-10096. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03805645
- Piornos JA, Delgado A, De la Burgade R, Methven L, Balagiannis DP, Koussissi E, Brouwer E, Parker JK (2019). Orthonasal and retronasal detection thresholds of 26 aroma compounds in a model alcohol-free beer: Effect of threshold calculation method. Food Research International, 123, 317-326. https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-03805650