PTR-QiToF-MS and HSI for the characterization of fermented cocoa beans from different origins.

The wide range of geographical cocoa production areas and the increasing consumption trend towards single origin products induced the necessity to verify and certify cocoa beans origin for quality assurance purposes. In this study cocoa beans of various origins were examined by machine olfaction and machine vision techniques. Fifty-nine fermented and dried Forastero cocoa beans from 23 different geographical origins (Africa, Americas, Southeast Asia) were investigated using Proton Transfer Reaction-Quadrupole interface-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry and Hyperspectral Imaging to elucidate the geographical information in the beans. The volatile and spectral fingerprints showed the same tendency in clustering samples from Africa separate from those from the Americas. High variability was observed for the Southeast Asian samples, which is most likely related to differences in fermentation. Machine olfaction and machine vision characterization provided a similar degree of separation but are complementary rapid techniques, which may be further developed for use in practical settings.