An analytical procedure to quantify concentrations of β-damascenone in orange juice was developed using static headspace SPME with selected ion GC-MS at m/z 190. Standard additions at four levels of β-damascenone (0.5 to 2 μg L−1) were used to establish the regression equation used to quantify juice samples. Reproducibility in terms of relative standard deviation values at each level ranged from 1% to 15%. Orange juice β-damascenone concentrations increased with increased heat treatment from 0.15 μg L−1 in the raw juice to 0.3 μg L−1 in juice which had been heated to 90 °C for 25 s. Levels of β-damascenone were determine in three types of commercial orange juice which have different levels of heat treatment. β-damascenone concentrations ranged from 0.122 to 0.281 μg L−1 in not from concentrate, NFC, juice (heated once), 0.117 to 0.445 μg L−1 in frozen concentrated orange juice, FCOJ, and 0.221 to 0.690 μg L−1 in reconstituted from concentrate, RFC, (heated to remove water and heated again after water restored). Although levels of β-damascenone increase with heat treatment, the wide range of β-damascenone concentrations observed would make it inappropriate to use as a single indicator of heat treatment. This is the first time β-damascenone has been quantified by headspace SPME in different types of orange juice samples.
