Study on the Influence of Pasture on Volatile Fraction of Ewes’ Dairy Products by Solid-Phase Microextraction and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

The detection of markers of identification of the geographical origin of food is an attractive challenge and, as far as dairy products are concerned, this paper represents a contribution to this field. In this research the influence of feed on the volatile compound composition was investigated on milk, 2-mo-old cheese (Caciotta), and whey cheese (ricotta) obtained from the same flock of Sarda ewes, under standardized technological conditions. Three different types of pasture (mixture of Lolium perenne and Trifolium squarrosum; rough pasture; Avena sativa) were studied. Solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used and principal component analysis was applied for statistical evaluation of the data set. The volatile composition was significantly affected by the type of pasture independently of the type of cheese and the ripening period. Moreover, a marker of rough pasture, tentatively identified as (E,E)-3,7,11-tri-methyl-2,4,10-dodecatriene, was detected only in milk and cheeses produced when the ewe flock grazed on that pasture.

Enrichment of Pecorino cheese with conjugated linoleic acid by feeding dairy ewes with extruded linseed: Effect on fatty acid and triglycerides composition and on oxidative stability

“…No starter culture was added for cheese making because raw milk was used. The cheese-making procedure was that described in Povolo, Contarini, Mele, and Secchiari (2007). Six Pecorino cheeses for each group were collected on the day after cheese making and after 1 month of ripening.…”

Volatile composition and aroma-active compounds of farmhouse Idiazabal cheese made in winter and spring

“…Only the content of toluene and t-3-octene increased significantly (P 0.05) in spring cheeses (Table 3). It has been reported that some hydrocarbons such as cis-and trans-isomers of octene could originate from oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids (Povolo et al, 2007). Some authors suggested that aromatic hydrocarbons, such as toluene, may come from the degradation of carotene present in fresh grass (Povolo et al, 2007;Ziino, Condurso, Romeo, Giuffrida, & Verzera, 2005).…”

“…It has been reported that some hydrocarbons such as cis-and trans-isomers of octene could originate from oxidation of unsaturated fatty acids (Povolo et al, 2007). Some authors suggested that aromatic hydrocarbons, such as toluene, may come from the degradation of carotene present in fresh grass (Povolo et al, 2007;Ziino, Condurso, Romeo, Giuffrida, & Verzera, 2005). Also, terpenoids could be expected to appear in higher number and abundance in spring than in winter cheeses due to fresh grass grazing in spring (Bugaud et al, 2001;Carpino et al, 2004b); however, only alpha-pinene was detected in very small quantities in winter cheeses.…”

“…Volatile analysis is one of the most important methods in quality evaluation of food and it has been applied to dairy products (Povolo et al, 2007;Preininger & Grosch, 1994). Characterization of volatile composition and sensory profile of Idiazabal PDO cheese has been previously published (Barron et al, 2005a(Barron et al, , 2005b.…”

“…The influence of different types of pastures on milk and cheese volatile composition has been studied (Bugaud, Buchin, Hauwuy, & Coulon, 2001;Povolo, Contarini, Mele, & Secchiari, 2007), but usually with the aim of detecting useful markers to link the product to its origin. A few studies have reported seasonal variations of volatile composition of ewes' raw milk cheeses, but information about the feeding management was not provided.…”