Influence of MAP technology on the aroma composition of cherries during shelf life period

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is known to slow down and prevent spoilage of fruits and vegetables. We investigated whether MAP technology may also be suitable to guarantee the characteristic aroma of stored products. As a case study, we selected cherries from 'Rainier' and 'Lapins' cultivars grown in Aragon. Since both represent an important segment in world-wide exportation, increasing the shelf life of these products represents a major issue for producers and distributors. The main objective of this work is monitoring the impact of Lifepack (R) semipermeable bags on the odour profile - and therefore aromatic potential - of cherries during the commercial shelf-life period, that was established in 20 days. For this purpose, the odour volatiles from 'Lapins' and 'Rainier' cherries were extracted by solid-phase microextraction (SPME) and analysed by gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O). A total of 20 odour zones were detected in both cultivars, with a score above 25% (established as "noise" threshold). From these, 18 could be satisfactory identified, belonging to the aldehyde, ethyl ester and ketone families. Hexanal, E-3-hexanal and E-2-hexanal are compounds with a powerful "grass" aroma that were identified at three ripening stages, which indicates that they are key-members of cherry aroma. Knowledge of the influence of packing films on the odour profile of specific cherry cultivars is valuable information for producers and distributors, in order to find the optimal storage conditions that allow preserving the aroma potential of fresh cherries during commercial shelf life.