Off-odor compounds responsible for quality loss of minimally processed baby spinach stored under MA of low O2 and high CO2 using GC–MS and olfactometry techniques

Abstract

Strong off-odor development is still one of the major problems associated with quality loss of baby spinach stored in MA with low O2 and high CO2. Freshness has been generally evaluated by sensory techniques that allow the description of aromatic profiles but it does not identify the responsible compound(s). An approach including sensory analysis and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC–MS)/Gas Chromatography-Olfactometric (GC-O) techniques were applied to elucidate the complex combination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) responsible for the off-odor perception of intact baby spinach without generation of new volatiles due to tissue manipulation. After 14 days, levels of low O2 and high CO2 (0.3 and 9.3 kPa, respectively) were achieved and off-odors development was detected. After GC–MS/GC-O analysis, there were 39 main compounds with olfactory activity, identified as alcohols associated with lipid peroxidation or LOX pathway; sulfur compounds from amino acid degradation; and alkanes from lipid autoxidation processes or carotenoid degradation. Odor-active compounds were grouped into the six odor categories as described by the sensory panel, with rotten and fishy being the strongest odors perceived after storage. The isolated VOCs grouped in the rotten descriptor were the alcohols 1-pentanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol and 1-octen-3-ol, and the sulfur compounds methanethiol and dimethyl disulfide. A compound responsible for fishy notes was dimethyl sulfide but some evidence indicated that amine compounds with low odor thresholds could be also implicated. Since sulfur compounds were perceived by all sniffers and easily detected by mass spectrometry, they may be good candidates as biomarkers of off-odors in baby spinach.