Abstract: Methods are provided for detecting the presence of one or more chemical contaminants in/on a plurality of items, e.g., cork stoppers. According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method of selecting cork stoppers substantially free of cork taint is provided. The method comprises the steps of arraying and classifying one or more cork stoppers into a formatted array to enable inspecting each stopper; inspecting each cork stopper within the formatted array for the presence of cork taint using an automated means of inspection; and sorting the cork stoppers within the formatted array into either (i) a rejected group consisting of those stoppers found in the inspecting step to have cork taint or (ii) an accepted group consisting of those stoppers found in the inspecting step to be substantially free of cork taint. These methods avail of apparatus that may use detection sensor electronics that separate from nose chips such that each nose chip can be either reused or discarded after use.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for automatedly detecting the presence of one or more chemical contaminants, such as 2,4,6-trichloroanisole, in/on a plurality of cork wine bottle stoppers in rapid succession using electronic nose chips. The apparatus moves the nose chips and the cork stoppers independently to align the cork stopper and a corresponding electronic nose chip with one another for testing. The automated apparatus and method provides a low-cost, reliable process for testing 100% of cork wine bottle stoppers in a fast and cost-effective manner.

Abstract: An apparatus (100) and method (400) for detecting the presence of one or more chemical contaminants in/on a plurality of items, e.g., cork stoppers (110), using nose chips (310). The apparatus utilizes detection sensor electronics (225) that are separate from the nose chips such that each nose chip can be either reused or discarded after use. The apparatus moves the nose chips and the cork stoppers independently to align the cork stopper and a corresponding nose chip with one another. The testing apparatus uses multiple sensor units (135) to simultaneously test multiple cork stoppers for chemical contaminants (e.g., TCA). The invention provides a low-cost, reliable process for testing 100% of cork stoppers in a fast and cost-effective manner that is scalable to the general consumer product market.