Solid Phase Microextraction for Cheese Volatile Compound Analysis

Abstract
Cheese headspace volatile compounds were extracted with solid‐phase microextraction (SPME) fibers, coated with either polydimethylsiloxane or polyacrylate, and thermally desorbed in the injector port for gas chromatographic (GC) analysis. Results with polyacrylate‐coated fibers were better than those with a polydimethylsiloxane fiber. Major cheese volatile components such as volatile fatty acids and 5‐lactones were readily extracted by both SPME fibers, but minor components such as volatile sulfur compounds were not observed. SPME‐GC patterns were distinctly different among cheese varieties, and characteristic volatile compounds could be identified using multivariate techniques.