Fast characterization of Camembert cheeses by static headspace–mass spectrometry

An application of the static headspace–mass spectrometry (SHS–MS) method for the rapid characterization of cheeses was described. After an equilibration step, the volatile components of the headspace were injected directly into a mass spectrometer via a short transfer line. The mass spectrum thereby obtained, without prior chromatographic separation, represents a “fingerprint” of the analyzed product. For data analysis the mass fragments of each spectrum were taken as potential descriptors of the headspace composition. Five batches of cheeses of the Camembert-type were classified by factorial discriminant analysis to evaluate the discriminating power of SHS–MS. fect of heating duration and temperature on the overall signal intensity and on the abundance of some specific fragments (water, sulfur compounds, ketones) was studied. The results show that the analysis of samples at ambient temperature affords the best classification of the cheese batches. Even so, the amounts of the volatile components extracted by static headspace are small and so limit the discriminating power of this system.