Nanowire Gas Sensor to Support Optical and Volatile Changes in the Production Chain of Fruit Jams

Abstract

The marmalade and jam market is growing worldwide, with the European countries being the main producers in this sector. The market has ancient origins and the production is aimed at conserving the surplus fruits during some period of the year. Nowadays, the automatic production processes are wide-ranging but start with high-quality raw materials and follow an appropriate cooking process to conserve the main features of the final product. On the other hand, cases of overcooking may occur which lead to the production of hydroxy-methyl-furfural and derivatives with consequent browning and poor organoleptic characteristics of the final product. This study aimed to use chemical oxide nanowire gas sensors device S3 coupled with optical techniques and recognizing algorithms to create a multi-actor platform able to control the production process of jams and marmalades with a fast response time, to assist the production process and avoid economical losses in the sector. PCA shows that this innovative technology can recognize changes in the volatile fingerprint, distinguishing when the positive and more natural organoleptic characteristics of the fruit are still present from the appearance of the organoleptic defects due to a faulty production process.

Keywords

• volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
• gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS)
• jams
• chemical sensors
• nanowire gas sensors
• principal component analysis (PCA)