Composition and impact of pre- and post-harvest treatments/factors in pecan nuts quality

• Published in: Trends in food science & technology 2023-01, Vol.131, p.46-60
• Main Authors: Siebeneichler, Tatiane Jéssica, Hoffmann, Jessica Fernanda, Galli, Vanessa, Zambiazi, Rui Carlos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carya illinoinensis; Lipid oxidation; Preservation; Storage; Volatile compounds
• ISSN: 0924-2244; 1879-3053
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tifs.2022.11.010

Pecan is an excellent source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds, which are attributed benefits to the health. Several studies relate that both pre-harvest and post-harvest factors can depreciate the nuts quality and reduce their lifetime. This review covers the current knowledge about the critical and determinants factors for maintaining pecan nut quality in terms of chemical composition and sensorial aspects, as well as enlists positive and negative effects of each process and steps from planting to the final consumer. At pre-harvest, the cultivar choice, growing place, and handling can be defined to achieve a specific composition and maximum nut quality. During storage the negatively impact factors are moisture over 4%, high oxygen pressure, temperatures higher than 10 °C, and roasting at high temperatures for long periods. Greater preservation of quality can be achieved with the cultivar 'Mahan' (which has a lower content of compounds related to lipid oxidation), with humidity below 4%, under a temperature below 10 °C in packaging with an oxygen pressure lower than 3 kPa. However, storage conditions are not optimized, and new preservation methods and technologies, should be investigated for fungal control and mycotoxin development; and to reduce nutritional, sensorial and bioactive compound losses in pecan processing and storage. In this review, we also list the factors that affect quality, the oxidation and degradation markers identified in pecans, which can be adopted as biomarkers in storage management. [Display omitted] •Pecan is an excellent source of monounsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds.•Moisture >4%, pO2 > 3 kPa, temperature >10 °C: reduce the quality of pecan during storage.•'Mahan' has greater potential to maintain quality during storage.•The roasting process reduces bioactive compounds.•Pentanal, hexanal, octanal, decenal, hexanoic acid and hexanol are potential markers of oxidation.