Aroma volatiles of ‘Conference’ pear and their changes during regular air and controlled atmosphere storage

The aim of this research was to investigate the aroma profile and changes of individual volatiles during regular air (RA) and controlled atmosphere (CA) storage of ‘Conference’ pear during six months at 0 °C. Gas combinations used were: RA; 0.5 kPa O2 + 0.5 kPa CO2; 1.5 kPa O2 + 1.5 kPa CO2; 0.5 kPa O2 + 6.0 kPa CO2 and 3.0 kPa O2 + 6.0 kPa CO2. The main compounds found during ripening of ‘Conference’ pear were butyl acetate (34 %), ethyl acetate (16 %), hexyl acetate (12 %), ethanol (11 %) and methyl acetate (5 %). Fruits under RA produced the highest amounts of volatiles and intermediary emissions were measured under 1.5 kPa O2 + 1.5 kPa CO2 and 3.0 kPa O2 + 6.0 kPa CO2. The storage under 0.5 kPa O2 + 0.5 kPa CO2 and 0.5 kPa O2 + 6.0 kPa CO2 induced the strongest inhibition in total aroma production. Under CA, the emission of ethyl acetate was not significantly suppressed even under 0.5 kPa O2 + 6.0 kPa CO2. Ethanol release increased during shelf-life in fruits of all storage conditions. Butyl acetate was only slightly suppressed even under 0.5 kPa O2 + 6.0 kPa CO2 and hexyl acetate, was significantly reduced only under 0.5 kPa O2 combined with 6.0 kPa CO2.