Analysis of volatile composition of honey by solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry

Honey aroma is largely dependent on its volatile fraction, which in turn is influenced by nectar composition and by possible modifications after harvesting. Solid phase microextraction (SPME) allows a simple and rapid fractionation of volatile compounds in honey as a prior step to their GC‐MS qualitative and quantitative determination. A simple SPME‐based procedure has been developed for GC‐MS analysis of honey volatiles and applied to the study of 6 different commercial honeys. The possibility of honey characterization from the analytical data obtained by the SPME method is discussed.