SOLID-PHASE MICROEXTRACTION FOR CHEESE VOLATILE COMPOUND ANALYSIS

Cheese headspace volatile compounds were extracted with solid-phase mi croextraction (SPME) fibers, coated with either polydimethylsiloxane o r polyacrylate, and thermally desorbed in the injector port for gas ch romatographic (GC) analysis. Results with polyacrylate-coated fibers w ere better than those with a polydimethylsiloxane fiber. Major cheese volatile components such as volatile fatty acids and delta-lactones we re readily extracted by both SPME: fibers, but minor components such a s volatile sulfur compounds were not observed. SPME-GC patterns were d istinctly different among cheese varieties, and characteristic volatil e compounds could be identified using multivariate techniques.