Supply chain assessment of fresh pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) fruit with special reference to their volatiles, sensory characteristics, and phenolic compounds

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Considerable amounts of exotic fruits such as pineapples (Ananas comosus [L.] Merr.) are imported from their tropical production sites to European and North American markets. The major portion of the pineapples destined for export is harvested at an early green-ripe stage (GR, green-ripe), exported by cost-efficient sea freight, and offered in the low-price segment. For post-harvest flavour genesis, such fruits need to be stored for several days at elevated temperatures; however, their sensory quality may deviate from pineapples harvested at full maturity (FR, fully ripe). The latter are to be exported by rapid air freight and offered as a premium niche product in the delicacy segment. The influence of harvest maturity and fruit logistics on the chemical composition and sensory properties of fresh pineapples has so far not been comprehensively investigated. The present work revealed the most significant differences in the volatile profiles of differently ripened and post-harvest handled pineapples. Moreover, FR pineapples and their sea freighted counterparts could be clearly distinguished by descriptive sensory analysis and a consumer preference test. In addition, this thesis provides an in-depth analytical characterisation of phenolic pineapple metabolites.