Fluorescence Tools for Sensing of Quality-Related Phytochemicals in Fruits and Vegetables

The quality of fruits and vegetables can be related to particular classes of compounds possessing peculiar optical properties. This aspect has been exploited by developing specific spectroscopic techniques for the non-destructive detection of such compounds, which are also suitable for the product quality monitoring. Among these, fluorescence spectroscopy was preferentially employed for a long time in the labs of the authors. By using various tools, partially developed by the authors, this technique proved to be suitable not only in basic research, but also for applied purposes. In this chapter, we are going to recall basic concepts of fluorescence and fluorescence measurements, give a brief description of different fluorescence methods employed in the acquisition of parameters describing the quality of fruits and vegetables and define what are the quality-related phytochemicals detectable by fluorescence. A report on portable fluorescence sensors available for in-field measurements is presented in subsection 4.3. Finally, some recent applications of the various fluorescence techniques and sensors on quality assessment of both fruits and vegetables are outlined.