Electronic-Nose as Non-destructive Tool to Discriminate "Ferrovia" Sweet Cherries Cold Stored in Air or Packed in High CO2 Modified Atmospheres.

Rosaria Cozzolino,Carmine Laurino,Matteo Stocchero,Bernardo Pace,Mario Paolo Pellicano,Maria Cefola,Michela Palumbo

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.720092

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the applicability of electronic-nose (E-nose) as a rapid method in discriminating samples of sweet cherry cv “Ferrovia” stored in high-CO2 (16% O2 + 20% CO2 + 64% N2) or air (control) up to 21 days. Projection to Latent Structures (PLS) methods applied to E-nose data showed that fresh fruit and the packaged or unpackaged samples can be distinguished, according to both the storage condition and the storage days. Moreover, a correlation analysis between E-nose sensors and 45 volatile compounds were overall, obtained from all the investigated sweet cherry samples by Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction (HS SPME) coupled to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). These methods allowed to associate samples with a specific flavour profile to one or more E-nose sensors. Finally, quality attributes (visual quality, colour, firmness, antioxidant activity, total phenols, and sugar content) were assessed during storage. Among these, visual quality and berry deformation resulted affected by storage conditions, showing that high-CO2 treatment better preserved the fruit quality than control.

Highlights

Cold temperatures storage and modified atmosphere (MA) packaging are well-established practises for delaying the senescence of fresh fruit and vegetables, extending their postharvest life.Aroma and flavour, which are crucial sensory attributes for consumer acceptability, are directly influenced by the organic volatile compounds (VOCs) profiles [1]
Electronic nose is a device equipped with an array of partial specific and broadspectrum electronic chemical sensors which simulate human olfactory perception and offers a digital fingerprint of the volatile components that can be investigated with appropriate statistical tools
As clearly reported by the study of Wilson and Baietto [6], the varieties of advantages and limitations related to each electronic nose (E-nose) sensor type are strictly connected with the nature of the technology that regulates the principle for detection and the types of analytes that may be detected by each sensor type

Summary

Introduction

Cold temperatures storage and modified atmosphere (MA) packaging are well-established practises for delaying the senescence of fresh fruit and vegetables, extending their postharvest life.Aroma and flavour, which are crucial sensory attributes for consumer acceptability, are directly influenced by the organic volatile compounds (VOCs) profiles [1]. As clearly reported by the study of Wilson and Baietto [6], the varieties of advantages and limitations related to each E-nose sensor type are strictly connected with the nature of the technology that regulates the principle for detection and the types of analytes that may be detected by each sensor type. This technique has already an application in the food industry, including food quality control, authenticity, and traceability studies of fresh fruit [4]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion