Fungal volatiles as indicators of food and feeds spoilage.

Fungal growth leads to spoilage of food and animal feeds and to formation of mycotoxins and potentially allergenic spores. Fungi produce volatile compounds, during both primary and secondary metabolism, which can be used for detection and identification. Fungal volatiles from mainly Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium have been characterized with gas chromatography, mass spectrometry, and sensory analysis. Common volatiles are 2-methyl-1-propanol, 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-octen-3-ol, 3-octanone, 3-methylfuran, ethyl acetate, and the malodorous 2-methyl-isoborneol and geosmin. Volatile sesquiterpenes can be used for taxonomic classification and species identification in Penicillium, as well as to indicate mycotoxin formation in Fusarium and Aspergillus. Developments in sensor technology have led to the construction of "electronic noses" (volatile compound mappers). Exposure of different nonspecific sensors to volatile compounds produces characteristic electrical signals. These are collected by a computer and processed by multivariate statistical methods or in an artificial neural network (ANN). Such systems can grade cereal grain with regard to presence of molds as efficiently as sensory panels evaluating grain odor. Volatile compound mapping can also be used to predict levels of ergosterol and fungal colony-forming units in grain. Further developments should make it possible to detect individual fungal species as well as the degree of mycotoxin contamination of food and animal feeds.