Differentiation of volatile aroma components in organically and conventionally produced apples by stir bar sorptive extraction combined with gas chromatography and EI/CI TOF mass spectrometry

Volatile aroma components and contents of organically and conventionally produced apples of the cultivars Elstar, Jonagold, Jonagored and Braeburn were studied. In three cultivars investigated, the aroma contents of organically produced apples were significantly lower (Elstar 16%, Jonagold 29%, Jonagored 68%). For Braeburn, no statistically significant difference was observed. In particular, the main aroma components were present at much lower concentrations in organically produced apples. In all apple cultivars, these were hexanal, trans-2-hexenal, 2-methylbutylacetate and hexylacetate. twenty-three aroma components were identified in total, in different relative ratios in the different apple cultivars: saturated esters, saturated and unsaturated aldehydes and alcohols. Some components identified in the conventionally produced cultivars were not present in the organically produced cultivars at all. The aroma components were extracted from juice freshly prepared from the apples by stir bar sorptive extraction (SBSE) technique and characterised by FID gas chromatography and EI/CI TOF mass spectrometry.