Volatile fraction of milk: comparison between purge and trap and solid phase microextraction techniques

The aim of this research was to validate the results obtained previously by purge and trap (PT) and to investigate the ability of solid phase microextraction (SPME), a more rapid and less expensive technique, to discriminate drinking milk subjected to different heat treatments (i.e., pasteurization, ultrahigh temperature, "in-bottle" sterilization) and produced at different factories. The data obtained by both methods were processed by multivariate statistical analysis. PT and SPME showed comparable repeatability, although with different performances for the yield of extraction, and allowed the three milk categories to be distinguished. Within the chemical class of methyl ketones, 2-heptanone was found to be the most discriminating compound, and the possibility of using the concentration of this volatile as a marker for heat treatment was investigated.