Variations in the volatile fraction of Bitto cheese during herd transhumance

The volatile organic compounds (VOcs) in Bitto cheese were identified using dynamic head-space extraction and GC-MS techniques to ascertain the variability of VOC patterns in cheeses manufactured during transhumance in 2010 and 2011 (n=10 per year). Thirty-eight of the fifty-four VOCs identified in Bitto cheeses that had been ripened for 70 days were considered, and the most abundant identified compounds were 2-butanol, ethanol, 2-butanone, and butanoic acid. According to ANOVA, only ten compounds differentiated the cheeses according to their production year, thus accounting for a slight variability in the profile of the VOCs in Bitto cheeses produced under the same animal-milk-cheese chain.