Volatile compounds of dry-fermented sausages as affected by solid-phase microextraction (SPME)

The analysis of volatile compounds from the headspace of dry-fermented sausages was done by solid-phase microextraction (SPME). The effects of exposure time and fibre coating were investigated. A total of 90 different compounds were extracted by the two fibre coatings and these were identified. Sixty-six compounds were extracted by divinylbenzene/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) coating and were identified, while 24 more were found with the carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) fibre. These 24 volatile compounds were mainly of low molecular weight. Four of the major compounds extracted: acetic acid, ethanol, hexanal and butanoic acid, were in high proportions in the two fibre coatings. However, the main differences were a higher affinity of DVB/CAR/PDMS for aldehydes while, for CAR/PDMS fibre, the higher affinity was for ester compounds. The extraction yields of dry fermented sausages volatile compounds varied according to the fibre coating used and the time of exposure, although competition effects were detected due to the high generation of lipid oxidation products, such as hexanal.