Electronic nose: New tool in modelling the ripening of Danish blue cheese

Changes during maturation of Danish blue cheese were analysed with a commercial electronic nose (e-nose) system. Features of the signals of the chemical sensors when in contact with the cheese headspace were modelled based on multivariate analysis. Chemical analyses performed on the same cheeses were used to indicate these changes. E-nose measurements were then used to model and predict the chemical changes that are strongly related to the quality parameters of this cheese. Prediction models were then tested on cheeses from the same producer. Selection of sensors and data pretreatment makes the modeling of the cheeses maturation and consequently the prediction of quality characteristics possible with the e-nose system.