Portable spectrometers are promising tools that can be an alternative way, for various purposes, of analyzing food quality, such as monitoring in a few seconds the internal quality during fruit ripening in the field. A portable/handheld (palm-sized) near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer (Neospectra, Si-ware) with spectral range of 1295–2611 nm, equipped with a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMs), was used to develop prediction models to evaluate tomato quality attributes non-destructively. Soluble solid content (SSC), fructose, glucose, titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic, and citric acid contents of different types of fresh tomatoes were analyzed with standard methods, and those values were correlated to spectral data by partial least squares regression (PLSR). Fresh tomato samples were obtained in 2018 and 2019 crops in commercial production, and four fruit types were evaluated: Roma, round, grape, and cherry tomatoes. The large variation in tomato types and having the fruits from distinct years resulted in a wide range in quality parameters enabling robust PLSR models. Results showed accurate prediction and good correlation (R_pred) for SSC = 0.87, glucose = 0.83, fructose = 0.87, ascorbic acid = 0.81, and citric acid = 0.86. Our results support the assertion that a handheld NIR spectrometer has a high potential to simultaneously determine several quality attributes of different types of tomatoes in a practical and fast way.

Near (NIR) and mid (MIR) infrared spectroscopies have been studied as potential methods for non-destructive analyses of the fresh fruits quality. In this study, vitamin C, citric acid, total and reducing sugar content in ‘Valência’ oranges were evaluated using NIR and MIR spectroscopy with multivariate analysis. The spectral data were used to build up prediction models based on PLS (Partial Least Squares) regression. For vitamin C and citric acid, both NIR (r = 0.72 and 0.77, respectively) and MIR (0.81 and 0.91, respectively) resulted in feasible models. For sugars determination the two techniques presented a strong correlation between the reference values and analytical signals, with low RMSEP and r > 0.70 (NIR: sucrose RMSEP = 12.2 and r = 0.75; glucose RMSEP = 6.77 and r = 0.82; fructose RMSEP = 5.07 and r = 0.81; total sugar RMSEP = 12.1 and r = 0.80; reducing sugar RMSEP = 20.32 and r = 0.82; MIR: sucrose RMSEP = 9.47 and r = 0.80; glucose RMSEP = 6.70 and r = 0.82; fructose RMSEP = 5.20 and r = 0.81; total sugar RMSEP = 11.72 and r = 0.81; reducing sugar RMSEP = 20.42 and r = 0.81). The models developed with MIR presented lower prediction error rates than those made with NIR. Therefore, infrared techniques show applicability to determine of orange quality parameters in a non-destructive way.

This research aims to provide simultaneous predictions of tomato paste’s multiple quality traits without any sample preparation by using a field-deployable portable infrared spectrometer. A total of 1843 tomato paste samples were supplied by four different leading tomato processors in California, USA, over the tomato seasons of 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2019. The reference levels of quality traits including, natural tomato soluble solids (NTSS), pH, Bostwick consistency, titratable acidity (TA), serum viscosity, lycopene, glucose, fructose, ascorbic acid, and citric acid were determined by official methods. A portable FT-IR spectrometer with a triple-reflection diamond ATR sampling system was used to directly collect mid-infrared spectra. The calibration and external validation models were developed by using partial least square regression (PLSR). The evaluation of models was conducted on a randomly selected external validation set. A high correlation (R_CV = 0.85–0.99) between the reference values and FT-IR predicted values was observed from PLSR models. The standard errors of prediction were low (SEP = 0.04–35.11), and good predictive performances (RPD = 1.8–7.3) were achieved. Proposed FT-IR technology can be ideal for routine in-plant assessment of the tomato paste quality that would provide the tomato processors with accurate results in shorter time and lower cost.

The cambuci is a native Brazilian fruit from the Atlantic Forest biome. A soft and astringent pulp, a green color, and a sweet aroma are its main characteristics. Classical food quality attributes (fresh fruit mass, fruit height, diameters, total soluble solid, titratable acidity, and ratio) and the metabolic profile from ten accessions from three different locations were analyzed herein by analytical methods (refractometry and neutralization titration) and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Concerning sugar content, sucrose was the predominant compound, with glucose and fructose alternating in second, depending on the accession. Citric acid was the most relevant acid, followed by shikimic and quinic acids in quite variable amounts. These three main acids vary in amounts for each accession. Ascorbic acid content emerges as an important quality attribute and makes this fruit nutritionally attractive, due to values comparable to those contained in citric fruits. The main amino acids identified in cambuci were glutamic acid individually or in comprising the tripeptide glutathione (glutamic acid, cysteine, glycine). The quality diversity of the evaluated accessions suggests the potentiality of cambuci use in future breeding programs.

No Brasil, há um mercado crescente que explora novas variedades, como a alface Brunela que se destaca pela crocância e por ser adaptada às condições brasileiras de cultivo, representando uma inovação para o mercado de alfacicultura. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar as características físico-químicas e sensoriais da alface Brunela e das cultivares comercial crespa Green Frisly e Vanda, cultivadas em sistema hidropônico. As cultivares foram avaliadas quanto ao pH, sólidos solúveis totais, ácido ascórbico, cor instrumental, clorofila, perda de massa e pressão de turgescência e análise sensorial. A cultivar Brunela apresentou o maior teor de ácido ascórbico e a menor perda de massa e pressão de turgescência resultando em melhor qualidade pós-colheita e aceitação pelos consumidores. Resultado semelhante foi observado para a Green Frisly, que também se destacou por apresentar coloração escura. A alface Vanda apresentou maiores valores para sólidos solúveis e coloração clara, resultando em maior aceitação pelos consumidores tanto pelo sabor quanto pela impressão global. Os resultados indicaram que a Brunela possui características favoráveis tanto para produtores como para consumidores que irão dispor de um produto competitivo e de alta qualidade.