Volatile sulfur compounds in Cheddar cheese determined by headspace solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatograph-pulsed flame photometric detection
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Abstract
The aim of this study was to develop a methodology for the analysis of volatile sulfur
compounds (VSCs) in Cheddar cheese. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) was employed
to extract VSCs from the cheese matrix using a CAR-PDMS fiber. This extraction method
was combined with gas chromatography-pulsed flame photometric detection (GC-PFPD)
to achieve high sensitivity for sulfur compounds. The impact of extraction parameters,
including time, temperature and sample size, was evaluated to determine the best conditions
to analyze sulfur compounds in Cheddar cheese. Hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, and
dimethyl sulfide were found to constitute the majority of the overall sulfur profile
while dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide were present in lesser amounts. Artifact
formation of volatile sulfur compounds was found to be minimal. Two commercial cheese
samples were analyzed and differences in sulfur content were observed. Overall, SPME-GC-PFPD
was found to be a highly sensitive technique for the analysis of sulfur compounds
in Cheddar cheese.