Differential scanning calorimetry coupled with chemometric tools for determining adulteration with vegetable fat in fresh cheeses

The adulteration of cheeses is a problem that has increased due to the high value of butterfat. Analytical methods for identifying adulteration are costly and time-consuming. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) has been effective for studying the thermal properties of milk fat. The aim of this study was to determine the thermal properties of cheese with added vegetable fat, relate them to the lipid profile and couple the DSC data with cluster analysis to identify adulterated samples. Two endothermic peaks (11.1 and 47.2 °C) in cheeses were found; the first peak could be related to saturated fatty acids and the second to unsaturated fatty acids. It was possible to discriminate 100% of genuine cheeses from adulterated cheeses with a vegetable fat minimum content of 5 g/L using DSC results coupled with cluster analysis; therefore, DSC coupled with cluster analysis can be a tool to determine the authenticity of fresh cheeses.