Solid Phase Microextraction for Cheese Volatile Compound Analysis

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.