Volatile compounds of modified atmosphere packaged cut iceberg lettuce: Effect of extremely low O2, season, cultivar and storage time

•Twenty one potent odorants including 8 unknowns were detected by GC-O.•Odorants that contribute to off-odor increased during 11 days of storage.•Generally, highest production of off-odors was in August.•Higher amount of odorants contributing to off-odor was found in film F1.•Modified atmosphere packaging with very low O2 has a risk of off-odor formation.

This study investigates the changes in volatile compounds in minimally processed iceberg lettuce as a function of season, cultivar, packaging and time. In order to achieve this, iceberg lettuce cultivars Platinas, Diamantinas and Morinas were harvested from June to September 2009. Lettuces were minimally processed and stored under three different treatments: two passive modified atmosphere packagings using films of different permeabilities, F1 (OPALEN 65 AF) and F2 (OPP/PE-L 2040 AF), and storage in air. All packages were stored at 5 °C. Gas composition and volatile compounds were assessed at 1, 5, 8 and 11 days of storage in packaged lettuce, whereas in air stored samples volatiles were analyzed only at 1 and 5 days of storage. Twenty one potent odorants were identified by GC-O. Among the months, August presented a notary increase of elemene, β-selinene and 2,3-butanedione, which likely contribute to off-odor of packaged cut lettuce. The content of O2 and CO2 was demonstrated to influence the formation of odorants as storage time increased. Higher amount of cis-3-hexenol was related to aerobic conditions found in the modified atmosphere packages and air stored samples after 1 day of storage, whereas levels of odorants such as 2,3-butanedione, elemene and β-selinene were significantly enhanced under anaerobic conditions after 11 days of storage. Film F2 seems to be the most promising because it kept the concentration of elemene and β-selinene lower than film F1. No clear differences were seen between the cultivars Morinas, Diamantinas and Platinas with regard to production of objectionable odorants under anaerobic conditions.