Projectname:
Rapid Quality Assessment of Nuts and Dried Fruits by Volatolomics
Workgroup: Preservation of food quality
Research Partner and Scientific Guidance:
Fraunhofer-Institut für Verfahrenstechnik und Verpackung IVV, Dr. Isik Türkmen
IGF-no.: 01IF00401C
Financing: BMWK
Project Duration: 2024 – 2026
The contamination of nuts and dried fruits with mycotoxins poses a significant health risk
worldwide. Due to seasonal harvesting and associated storage times, there is a danger of mold
infestation and quality loss, especially in hazelnuts. Currently, the identification of qualitycompromised
hazelnuts requires elaborate and sometimes destructive methods, creating a
demand for rapid quality assessment procedures.
In this CORNET project, the suitability of volatolomics for the quality assessment of nuts is being
investigated. The technical approach is based on the identification and quantification of volatile
compounds using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), which are
released from the nuts into the headspace of their packaging. Mold-contaminated nuts and those
with reduced quality, for example due to increased fatty acid degradation processes, will be
separated based on their distinct profiles of volatile compounds from high-quality hazelnuts.
Additionally, a combination with analytical IR spectroscopy is being pursued to enhance the
sensitivity of the classification model. By employing methods from the field of machine learning,
characteristic volatile markers will be identified, and the developed classification model will also
be tested for its suitability to assess dried figs during the project.
To consolidate expertise from the world’s significant hazelnut cultivation and processing regions,
the project is being conducted by Fraunhofer IVV in collaboration with the Turkish research partner
TÜBITAK MAM. The goal of the international project is to lay the foundation for the development
of simple and cost-effective gas/IR sensor arrays for the quality control of hazelnuts and dried
fruits.
The IGF project presented here by the Research Association of the Industrial Association for Food Technology and Packaging (IVLV e.V.) is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action as part of the program for the promotion of industrial community research (IGF) based on a decision of the German Bundestag.