Quality traits of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) produced in Italy

Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is considered the most expensive spice in the world (1). This plant is an autumn- flowering geophyte and is believed to have originated in Greece, Asia Minor and Persia. It is mainly produced in Iran but also in some European countries such as France, Greece, Spain and Italy (2, 3). This research is the first to investigate the quality of saffron produced in Italy. Quality analysis was performed according to ISO 3632 1,2:2010-2011. In particular, moisture content and the amount of picrocrocin (flavour strength), safranal (aroma strength) and crocins (colouring strength) of about 400 samples collected from throughout Italy were evaluated using a spectrophotometric methodology. Qualitative analysis was carried out from 2015 to 2018 considering about 100 samples per year. Results show that more than 84% of samples belong to the first quality category, about 10% belong to the second quality category, approximately 2% belong to the third quality category and the rest of the samples are outside all categories. Exclusion of samples from the first category was mainly due to high moisture content (>12%) and lower coloring strength (crocin < 200 !% ). This research shows that high quality !!" saffron can be produced all over Italy from plain to mountain areas. In conclusion, some good practices for the production of this precious spice are provided to further improve the quality of Italian saffron. This research was supported by “FISR-MIUR Italian Mountain Lab” project.