Volatilome in Milk for Grana Padano and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheeses: A First Survey

Abstract

Milk characteristics in terms of volatile compounds can influence the subsequent product characteristics and can give indications about metabolism. These features can strongly depend on feeding and management. In this perspective, the screening of milk samples intended for Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano located in Northern Italy was performed, focusing on a panel of volatile molecules. The work was carried out on a total number of 25 bovine milk samples for the production of Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano. Milk samples were collected from May to September and analyzed for volatile molecules using headspace gas chromatography mass spectrometry. A range of several volatile molecule classes was considered (aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, carboxylic acids, esters, aromatic hydrocarbons, solforates). Results showed a significant influence of the month and destination of milk due to the time period and subsequent use in cheesemaking (Parmigiano-Reggiano and Grana Padano). Significant differences between months were observed for all volatiles. These preliminary results indicate differences between the two types of milk due to the period and destination. The study of volatile molecules in milk will give important information about the physiology of milk and the evolution of dairy products. These features must be extended and confirmed by the sensory analysis of milk and derived products, leading to a more complete characterization of milk biology and derived products.

Determination of Fatty Acids Profile in Original Brown Cows Dairy Products and Relationship with Alpine Pasture Farming System

“…Different studies have already demonstrated the possibility of the utilization of fatty acids profile from dairy products not only to identify the type of feeding system (daily rations of fresh grass vs. no fresh grass in the diet) [31][32][33][34][35][36], but also to ensure geographical authentication of the protected designation of origin dairy products [37]. However, despite the breed consistency increasing importance in last years, no studies have considered the possibility to distinguish between dairy products of Original Brown cows grazing or not on Italian alpine pastures.…”

Assessment of residual plant DNA in bulk milk for Grana Padano PDO production by a metabarcoding approach

“…A further filter was applied to each resulting OTU table to remove entries having less than 5 reads and binning them to unassigned (UN). Out of the assigned reads for each sample, entries representing more than 1% of the reads of a sample were labelled as “dominant” [ 17 ].…”

“…In fact, DNA has higher stability compared to other biological markers, such as proteins, and can be isolated even in matrices with extremely low contents [13][14][15]. In this regard different studies have been described for enhancement of GP or other dairy products: Rocchetti et al (2018) [16] outlined a metabolomic approach to ensure the authenticity of GP, Faustini et al (2019) [17] reported on a volatilome study on milk destined to the production of both GP and Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses and, metabarcoding of bacterial communities has been used for the preservation and valorisation of similar food products [18][19][20]. Several studies have shown that feed-derived plant nuclear and/or chloroplast DNA fragments can also be detected in milk [21].…”