Filbertone as a marker for the assessment of hazelnut spread quality

Abstract

A method was proposed for the authenticity evaluation of the hazelnut based products, in which the hazelnut paste content is the principle qualitative parameter. The procedure is based on the determination of filbertone ((E)-5-methylhept- 2-en-4-one), the natural, unique, and characteristic aroma component of the hazelnuts. A set of authentic hazelnut pastes and model samples containing various hazelnut paste amounts (from 0.1% to 28%) were analysed. Due to the variability found in filbertone content, it was not possible to propose a sufficiently robust model for the hazelnut paste quantification, however, filbertone was found to be a proper marker for the quality sorting of commercial hazelnut spreads. Available hazelnut spreads from the market were analysed and classified into three groups: samples with minimal content of hazelnuts (less than 1%, the filbertone content lower than 4 μg/kg); samples with middle contents of hazelnuts (from 1% to 10%, filbertone 4-45 μg/kg); superior samples with high contents of hazelnuts (above 10%, filbertone above 45 μg/kg).