A comparison of six brands of imported Camembert cheeses was carried out to determine the differences in proteolysis and biogenic amine contents. Moisture content, pH value and free amino acid content of cheese samples were measured, and the degree of proteolysis was analyzed using the Kjeldahl method. Biogenic amine contents were measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results showed that there was a significant difference in pH value, proteolysis index and free amino acid contents among six brands (P < 0.05), with different degrees of ripening. Cheese pH value was positively correlated with proteolysis index. A significant difference in biogenic amine contents was also found (P < 0.05), but all samples were within the recommended limit. Among these, the sample FRA1 exhibited the highest degree of proteolysis and highest degree of maturation.

The free fatty acid and volatile flavor compositions of six brands of imported Camembert cheese in China were measured comparatively by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with GC-MS. The results showed that all analyzed samples had an identical free fatty acid composition, myrisitc, palmitic, linoleic, and stearic acid being the major ones and no significant difference among the total free fatty acid contents of the six samples was found. On the other hand, a significant difference was noted in the contents of volatile flavor compounds, the samples FRA1 and FRA2 containing the highest contents of carboxylic acids while the remaining samples having higher contents of ketone compounds, which may be related to the maturity of cheese. Sensory evaluation of FRA1 and FRA2 showed lower scores for sensory attributes and overall quality, while the other four samples showed no significant difference.