Evaluation of Penicillium expansum for growth, patulin accumulation, nonvolatile compounds and volatile profile in kiwi juices of different cultivars

•P. expansum grow and produce PAT in kiwi juice from eight cultivars.•P. expansum contamination cause significant changes of chemical compounds of kiwi juice.•P. expansum infection in each variety of kiwi juice induce a distinct VOCs profile.•VOCs of P. expansum provide possibility to identify strong/weak PAT-producers.•Four compounds are potential biomarkers for P. expansum infection in kiwi juice.

Patulin (PAT) contamination and changes of nonvolatile and volatile compounds caused by Penicillium expansum in fresh juices of 8 kiwi cultivars were investigated. Growth and PAT production of P. expansum were greater at 25 °C than at 4 °C. P. expansum grew in kiwi juices under pH ranging from 2.75 to 3.27 and produced 45.10-268.88 μg/mL of PAT at 25 °C. Decreases occurred in malic acid and soluble protein; while consumption and production simultaneously happened for reducing sugar, total soluble solid, titratable acid, citric acid, ascorbic acid and total phenolics. A large number of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were produced during infection and each cultivar presented a distinct profile. Most of the alcohols, acids, ketones and phenols increased while aldehydes decreased. VOCs that were specific to infected kiwi juices are potential biomarkers for GC-MS analysis of kiwifruit infected by P. expansum.