New procedures for the early detection of precursors of 2,4,6 trichloroanisole or TCA at the forest farm level, a sensory defect affecting cork stoppers

The aim of this Operational Group is to carry out a project to identify the factors responsible for the formation of Trichloroanisole (TCA) at the farm level (humidity, orientation, temperature, light, specific composition, etc.), applied forest management (clearing) and at the tree level (health status of the tree, micro-purple).

Based on the study carried out in this project and the dissemination of the results, we aim to identify the main precursors of the presence of TCA in cork and the most appropriate forestry actions to prevent its appearance in cork oaks, and thus be able to increase the production of quality Catalan cork.

This would be a key step to ensure the economic viability of cork extraction and thus contribute to the improvement of Catalan cork oak forests.