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

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate and classify some of the main traditional Brazilian semi‐hard cheeses, using multivariate tools to determine possible denomination fraud. Fifty‐six samples of Minas Artisanal (MA), Colonial (AC), Minas Padrão (MP) and Meia Cura (MC) cheeses were analysed. All the evaluated parameters indicated high variability. PCA and HCA confirmed two groupings (AC and MP; and MA and MC) with high similarity. The DD‐SIMCA method classified the cheeses with 83% accuracy. AC (48%) and MA (20%) cheeses were the most well classified in their respective denomination. These results were efficient in classifying groups and demonstrating the lack of authenticity regarding the denominations of these cheeses.

Comparison of hyperspectral imaging and spectrometers for prediction of cheeses composition

“…Consequently, it is necessary to know the characteristics of artisanal cheeses and identify markers that can assist in the certification of products with geographical indication and in the identification of fraudulent products (Santos et al, 2017). Different methodologies based on chemical composition (Fitztum et al, 2023;Santos et al, 2017) and gas chromatograph (Margalho et al, 2021), Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy (MIR), Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) (Silva et al, 2023), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) (Andrade et al, 2022) were applied to characterize and discriminate cheeses according to the type or region of production. Despite presenting promising results, it is necessary to investigate new techniques that allow obtaining reliable, fast, and low-cost results.…”