Potential of SPME-GC and chemometrics to detect adulteration of soft fruit purees

The potential of combining solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with gas chromatography and chemometric data analysis to differentiate between pure strawberry samples (Fragraria ananassa) and strawberry samples adulterated with 10, 40, and 70% (v/v) apple puree was investigated. The method involved the extraction of aroma volatiles from the headspace of the puree samples using a SPME fiber followed by GC analysis with flame ionization detection. The principal component analysis (PCA) data matrix consisted of the relative percent peak areas of 37 compounds deemed to be significant in the differentiation of the samples on the basis of adulteration. The PCA results clearly showed that differentiation of the adulterated and unadulterated samples was possible, particularly at the higher levels of adulteration. Partial least-squares regression (PLSR) using a dummy set of Y variables (set to 0 for unadulterated and 1 for adulterated samples) resulted in clear discrimination between unadulterated purees and those containing 40 and 70% (v/v) apple. PLSR using a second set of Y variables, consisting of the actual level of adulteration, enabled quantification of apple puree with a standard error of prediction of 11.6%, implying a minimum detectable level of 25% (v/v) apple. GC-MS analysis enabled identification of the compounds with the greatest influence on sample differentiation. These compounds were identified as hexanoic acid, 2-hexenal, and (alpha-farnesene, all of which are key aroma compounds in apples.