Methodical approach for food profiling: physical and sensory characterisation of German Emmental-type cheese and statistical data evaluation

This work outlines a methodical approach for food profiling with German Emmental cheese as an example. The aim was to obtain reliable methods and to identify quantitative parameters that allow a differentiation between German Emmental cheese from Emmental cheeses produced in other regions and countries. Food profiling was approached in three major steps. First, a comprehensive standard profile of Emmental cheese from Southern Germany was evaluated regarding physical and biochemical parameters by various methods. The data obtained was then subjected to multivariate statistical analyses to verify the suitability of the methods as well as to identify parameters with high potential for discrimination between different Emmental cheeses. Afterwards, the manufacturing process was varied in order to produce cheeses with specified characteristics. Thus, Emmental cheese can be influenced via the process-structure-function relationship to increase conformity in food profiling.