A non-destructive sampling method for food authentication using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry or ion mobility spectrometry

The study of volatile compounds obtained by gas chromatography (GC) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) or ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) may be very useful to protect food quality, especially when using a nondestructive sampling method. In this work, the authentication of the highly appreciated dry-cured Iberian ham by those techniques was studied and compared. The results obtained show the suitability of a nondestructive sampling method coupled to headspace sampling (HS)-GC-IMS or HS-GC-MS to determine volatile markers in the feeding Iberian pig regime. Although both methods were suitable to differentiate the ham categories, HS-GC-IMS was more sensitive detecting a higher number of compounds than HS-GC-MS, which provided accurate qualitative results. The results of principal component analysis showed that ethanol, 2-propanol and 3methylbutanol, identified by HS-GC-IMS, and 3-methylbutanal and heptane, identified by HS-GC-MS, could be considered potential markers to identify ham from different feeding regimes.

Automated summary

The study demonstrates that using GC-MS or GC-IMS techniques combined with nondestructive sampling methods for identification of dry-cured Iberian ham is feasible. HS-GC-IMS is more sensitive than HS-GC-MS, detecting more compounds and providing accurate qualitative results. Principal component analysis identified potential markers for differentiation.