Discrimination of artisanal Minas cheeses according to geographical origin using spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques associated with chemometrics

The study aimed to differentiate artisanal Minas cheeses (in Portuguese: queijo Minas artesanal, QMA) produced in different regions of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, using near infrared (NIR), mid infrared (MIR) spectroscopy and reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) combined with chemometrics. QMA samples were collected directly from producers in the Cerrado, Serra of Canastra and Serro regions, totaling 56 samples. The samples were analyzed by NIR, MIR and water-soluble peptides (WSP) were extracted and analyzed by RP-HPLC. Chemometrics were used to develop models for sample classification. The results indicated that it was possible to differentiate cheeses based on their geographic origin using NIR and MIR. With the MIR and RP-HPLC more accurate classifications of samples by region were obtained. The use of WSP allowed the differentiation of QMA, and can be used to generate a fingerprint of cheeses produced in different regions.