Evaluating the Authenticity of the Raw-Milk Cheese Fontina (PDO) with Respect to Similar Cheeses

Abstract

The implementation of quality assurance schemes for the assessment of PDO food authenticity is an issue involving manufacturers, traders, retailers and consumers. In this respect, reliable analytical methods are needed to integrate paper-trailing information. The feasibility of distinguishing the Italian Fontina PDO cheese from the generic Fontal cheese was preliminarily evaluated on a set of commercial samples by measuring selected parameters (pH, alkaline phosphatase activity, content of copper, volatiles, extent of proteolysis) related to the different manufacturing processes. The relative profile of free amino acids proved to be a promising tool. A new set of 41 samples of Fontina PDO cheese was collected at representative dairies within the recognized production area and analyzed for free amino acids. A chemometric model of Fontina PDO cheese was built based on the mean content and standard deviation of 15 free amino acids. On this basis, all of the PDO samples were correctly identified, whereas all of the Fontal cheeses were recognized as different cheeses.

Current State of Milk, Dairy Products, Meat and Meat Products, Eggs, Fish and Fishery Products Authentication and Chemometrics

“…Differentiation of dairy products based on their geographic and seasonal origin can be carried out by chemometrics, and this is particularly valuable for products with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. Studies such as Pellegrino et al [97] and Tarapoulouzi and Theocharis [98] employed chemometric methods to distinguish between different types of cheese. This verification is vital for protecting traditional cheese-making practices and ensuring consumers receive genuine products.…”

“…Table 2 presents recent studies of chemometrics and the authenticity of milk and dairy products. Milk and mature cheese Control of breeding system (agricultural production system) of animals FTIR, GC, PTR-ToF-MS, sensor analysis LDA [108] White cheese Adulteration with vegetable fats Spectroscopy Raman PLS-DA, PLS [13] PDO-Fontina cheese and traditional Fontal cheese Discrimination according to the type of cheese GC-IMS, CZE, chromatography PCA [97] Graviere cheese Geographical origin GC-MS, ICP-OES LDA [20] Fresh and pasteurized milk Detection of animal origin and heat treatment Spectroscopy Raman PLS-DA [15] Cheese Study of ripening and ripening type based on fatty acid content Gravimetric GC-MS, Ag + -HPLC-DAD CA, PCA, LDA [14] Yogurt and cheese made with goat's milk Detection of cow's milk adulteration FT-NIR PCA, PLS-DA, iPLS [109] PDO grated cheese Parmigiano Reggiano Study of authenticity based on crust percentage (maximum allowed rind content percentage) Spectroscopy Raman SIMCA PLS [110] Cheese PDO-Pecorino Romano, PDO-Pecorino Sardo and Pecorino di Farindola Discrimination of the type of cheese based on volatile compounds HS-SPME-GC-MS PCA, LDA, PLS-DA [111] Kefalotyri and cheddar cheese Discrimination by type of cheese 1 H-NMR, FTIR OPLS-DA [112] Dairy products Detection of adulteration with vegetable fats 1 H-NMR Orthogonal projection [113] Yogurt Detection of adulteration with vegetable fats FT-NIR, FT-MIR SIMCA, PLSR [114] Milk powder Milk powder ATR-FTIR PCA, SIMCA [115] Classification of Halloumi and Anari cheese Discrimination according to the origin of the cheeses FTIR OPLS SIMCA [99] Halloumi cheese, Kefalotyri and cheddar Discrimination according to the type of cheese FTIR, 1 H-NMR OPLS-DA, MOCA [116] Prato and mozzarella cheeses Verification the authenticity of commercial samples of prato cheese MIR PLS-DA [117]…”

Evaluation of traditional semi‐hard Brazilian cheeses using chemometric tools to identify possible denomination fraud

“…Therefore, reliable analytical methods are needed to integrate information. The feasibility of distinguishing a cheese type from the generic cheese must be preliminarily evaluated on a set of commercial samples by measuring selected parameters physical chemicals related to the different manufacturing processes (Pellegrino et al 2021).…”

Authenticity assessment of dairy products by capillary electrophoresis

“…The use of CE for the study of milk proteins was developed from some pioneering works in the early 90s [63,64] and currently many laboratories use CE for dairy research [65,66]. As regards the general topic of CE in food analysis, the review papers published biennially by the electrophoresis journal are very useful [67][68][69][70][71][72][73].…”