## 4 Conclusions  
This research is the first to examine the impact of storage on blueberry aroma by comparing overall perceived aroma characteristics and aroma-active components using GC-O in combination with the quantitation and calculation of OAVs. An important part of this study was also that the storage conditions were commercially relevant. These aspects of this research greatly add to the work by [PERSON] et al. [6], who conducted the most similar research to this study, examining storage effects on blueberry volatiles. GC-O analysis based on AEDA indicated two new volatiles, i.e., sotolon and 4-vinylguaiacol, which were reported for the first time in blueberries. The findings of this study indicated that storage conditions strongly affect the character-impact odorants of blueberries and the overall perceived aroma. Storage at a cold temperature of 1 \({}^{\circ}\)C (S1), which is a commercial storage temperature for blueberries, caused a loss in the concentration of several key volatiles, which included (_E_,Z_)-2,6-nonadienal, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-octen-3-one, and linalool. This loss altered the blueberries' aroma, as confirmed by sensory comparisons between treatments. As the storage temperatures increased to 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C (S2) and then 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C (S3), temperatures designed to simulate distribution and marketing, most of the key volatiles increased to concentrations equivalent to or greater than what was observed at harvest (SC). In concert with this, the sensory panel was not able to discern an aroma difference between SC and S2 or S3. The PCA supported the clear separation of S1 from SC and S3. The overall results indicate that the warmer conditions that typically follow cold storage help to recover character-impact odorants that decline in cold storage. The aroma compounds (_E_,Z_)-2,6-nonadienal, 1-octen-3-ol, 1-octen-3-one, linalool, and eucalypt could be used as key odorants indicating the aroma quality of blueberry. Further sensory evaluation to confirm the importance of key odorants when combined as a group in the blueberry matrix is needed to fully ascertain their roles in blueberry aroma.  
**Supplementary Materials:** The following supporting information can be downloaded at [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14071244/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14071244/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14071244/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/foods14071244/s1)): Table S1: Selected ion (\(m/z\)) and response factors (R\({}_{f}\)) used in volatile analysis; Figure S1: Weight loss following storage of blueberries for 3 weeks at 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C, then an additional 1 week at 10 \({}^{\circ}\)C, followed by 2 days at 20 \({}^{\circ}\)C.  
**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, D.O. and F.K.; methodology, F.K. and K.C.; formal analysis, F.K.; investigation, F.K. and K.C.; resources, D.O.; data curation, F.K.; writing--original draft preparation, F.K.; writing--review and editing, F.K., D.O., and K.C.; supervision, D.O.; project administration, F.K. and D.O. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
**Funding:** This research received no external funding.  
**Institutional Review Board Statement:** The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the University of California Institutional Review Board (protocol code 23014 on 20 October 2023).  
**Informed Consent Statement:** Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.  
**Data Availability Statement:** The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article/Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.  
**Acknowledgments:** Thanks to [PERSON], who was very helpful in this work.  
**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflicts of interest.