ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to evaluate fungal and patulin contamination, together with its correlation with the volatile compounds (VCs), in 'Fuji Mishima' apples (up to 25% decayed) under controlled atmosphere (CA) and dynamic controlled atmosphere with respiratory quotient (DCA-RQ) of 1.3 combined with different partial pressures of carbon dioxide (0.8, 1.2, 1.6 and 2.0 pCO2). Fruits were stored under the above conditions for 8 months at 0.5 °C plus 7 days shelf life at 20 °C. Toxigenic fungi and patulin accumulation were found in apples from all treatments. Penicillium expansum was the most prevalent species. For all storage conditions, patulin concentrations were above the maximum level allowed in Brazil (50 ⯵g⯠kg-1) with an exception of DCA-RQ1.3 + 0.8 kPa CO2. This condition, with lower pCO2, showed the lowest patulin accumulation, below the legal limit. The CA provided the highest patulin concentration (166 µg â¯kg-1). It was observed that fungal growth could also contribute to changes in the volatile composition. Styrene and 3-methyl-1-butanol are considered P. expansum markers in some apple cultivars and were detected in the samples. However, it was not possible to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are biomarkers from P. expansum, because there were other fungi species present in all samples. In this study, styrene, n-decanoic acid, toluene, phenol and alpha-farnesene were the compounds that showed the most positive correlation with patulin accumulation. On the other hand, a negative correlation of patulin with acids has been shown, indicating that in treatments with a higher patulin concentration there were less acidic compounds.
Subject(s)
Food Contamination/analysis , Fungi/chemistry , Malus/chemistry , Patulin/chemistry , Atmosphere , Carbon Dioxide/chemistry , Food Handling , Humans , Penicillium/chemistry , Pentanols/chemistry , Styrene/chemistry , Volatile Organic Compounds/chemistryABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to evaluate patulin contamination in 'Galaxy' and 'Fuji Kiku' apples subjected to controlled atmosphere (CA) and dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA) conditions. Experiments were performed and fruit were stored for nine months under refrigeration plus 7â¯days shelf life at 20⯰C. CA and DCA were not effective in preventing patulin production in either 'Galaxy' or 'Fuji Kiku' apples. Healthy fruit were not contaminated with patulin, even when stored together with decayed apples. For 'Galaxy' apples, application of 1-methylcyclopropene increased the percentage of fruit with decay and patulin contamination. Patulin concentrations were above the maximum limit (50⯵gâ¯kg-1) established in the Brazilian legislation, meaning the use of CA and DCA conditions were not advantageous in preventing patulin accumulation. In 'Fuji Kiku' apples, there was no significant difference in patulin concentration among CA, DCA-CF and DCA-RQ 1.3 treatments, and all were below the maximum.
