Obituary of Prof. Dr. Werner Grosch (1934-2023)

The Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich mourns the passing of Professor Werner Grosch, who died in May 2023. We bid farewell to a highly respected colleague, renowned scientist and researcher, whose work was entirely dedicated to analytical food chemistry.

Professor Grosch, born in Berlin in 1934, left a lasting impression on the scientific community and will be remembered for his pioneering discoveries and outstanding contributions to food chemistry. He has done pioneering work in a wide range of fields, including in particular the study of fat oxidation and the identification of sensory active compounds in foods. As early as 1979, for example, he discovered that certain hydroxy fatty acids are responsible for the bitter taste of oat products—compounds that have just now become highly topical again as undesirable accompanying substances in the wake of the shift toward a more plant-based protein supply. Above all, however, his contribution to research into odorants in foods will remain unforgotten. Together with Professor Peter Schieberle, he established gas chromatography-olfactometry and flavor extract dilution analysis as key methods for activity-guided identification of odor-active compounds in flavor research, as well as the use of isotopologues as internal standards in quantification assays for odorants. He also proved the importance of reconstitution and omission experiments for the identification of key odorants. His work provides an important foundation for the now established field of molecular sensory science, which is dedicated to the targeted improvement of the sensory properties of foods.

Professor Grosch is also being honored for his contribution to the internationally recognized textbook "Belitz-Grosch", which has become a standard work in food chemistry since its first publication in 1982. His contribution to this textbook has provided numerous students of food chemistry with a sound basis of knowledge and has made it an indispensable reference work for food technologists, nutritionists, medical doctors and veterinarians from industry, research and food monitoring.

To honor his outstanding achievements and services in the field of food chemistry, the Society of German Chemists awarded Professor Grosch the Joseph König Commemorative Medal (Joseph-König-Gedenkmünze) in 1998.

Professor Grosch exerted a significant influence not only through his research, but also through his thirty years of service (1969 - 1999) as deputy director of our institute, the then German Research Center for Food Chemistry, and as a university lecturer at the Technical University of Munich. He supervised numerous papers by young scientists, including nearly 50 doctorates, and passed on his knowledge and expertise to future generations of food chemists.

With the death of Professor Werner Grosch in May 2023, food chemistry loses an outstanding personality and a visionary who, together with Professor Peter Schieberle, laid the foundations for current flavor research. Our deepest sympathy goes to his family.

We are grateful for his scientific contribution, his humor and his exemplary interaction with all employees, whom Professor Grosch always treated with esteem and courtesy, and will hold him in high esteem.

On behalf of all employees of the Leibniz Institute for Food Systems Biology at the Technical University of Munich

Prof. Dr. Veronika Somoza (Director) and PD Dr. Martin Steinhaus (Head of Research Section I Chemistry of Sensory Systems )