Mass spectrometry analysis of volatile compounds in raw meat for the authentication of the feeding background of farm animals.

The authentication of the conditions of animal production, based on the analysis of meat commercial cuts, is a major challenge on both societal and analytical grounds. The aim of the present work was to propose a method for the extraction of the volatile compounds from ruminant raw muscles trimmed of fat and to assess by mass spectrometry-based techniques the relevance of these compounds for the authentication of the type of feeding offered to the animals. The first step of the study consisted of validating conditions of dynamic headspace (DH) extraction of volatile compounds that enabled us to minimize the appearance of heat-induced artifacts and to maximize the richness of the DH-gas chro…