A sustainable approach to analytical method development: the determination of biogenic amines in Gorgonzola cheese

Two main challenges posed by Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) concern the replacement of petroleum-derived solvents with safer and more sustainable ones, and the development of overall sustainable and applicable analytical methods. This work, focused on biogenic amines (BAs) determination in Gorgonzola cheese, proposes a new sustainable approach to analytical method development, exploiting the available chemoinformatic tools for the in silico selection of the most promising green solvents and the greenness assessment of sample preparation procedures. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first analytical application of gamma-valerolactone. The developed LC-DAD method was significantly more sustainable than other methods reported in the literature, since over 75% of the materials used were sustainable and renewable, waste production was minimized, and sample throughput was maximized by reducing length of sample processing and chromatographic analysis. The validated method provided satisfactory recoveries of aromatic BAs associated with good repeatability and low enough quantitation limits to comply with current regulatory and toxicological standards. Particularly high levels of histamine detected in spicy Gorgonzola suggest that it would be appropriate to inform histamine-sensitive consumers and enable them to find on the market a variety of alternative cheeses, identified by specific labels as suitable for their sensitivity level, similarly to what is established for gluten-intolerant people. To this end, the developed method represents a convenient and sustainable option for monitoring the concentration of problematic BAs throughout the shelf life of cheese, ensuring consumer safety, compliance with good manufacturing practices by companies, and proper storage by distributors.