Scientific and professional section 78 ■ MESO ■ No. 1 ■ January-February ■ Vol. XVII (2015) INTRODUCTION With about 230,000 head of cattle, Dalmatian Pra- menka is the most numerous autochthonous Croa- tian sheep breed (Croatian Agriculture Agency, 2013) that has been bred since olden times on the slopes of the mountains Velebit, Dinara, Svilaja, Kamešnica, Biokovo, in the Dalmatian hinterland, Ravni kotari, the Cetina region as well as on Dalmatian islands (Mioč et al ., 2012). Although this is a breed of various produc- tion features, Dalmatian Pramenka is mainly grown for the production of the much famous young Dalmatian lamb (Mioč et al. 2013; Krvavica et al. 2013, 2014) which is traditionally prepared for consumption by roasting the whole carcass on a spit. Consumers recognize and appreciate Dalmatian lamb primarily due to the gentle structure of its muscle tissue and its specific very mild and pleasant aroma and flavour. Numerous previous studies point to a very signifi- cant impact of not only certain species and breeds of animals, but also of breeding and feeding systems (es- pecially of the same species and breed) on the com- position of volatile compounds of meat aroma, which is especially true for the meat of ruminants (Young and et al., 1997; Priolo et al. 2004; Prache et al. 2005; Vasta and Priolo, 2006; Madruga et al. 2009; Sivadier et al. 2010; Vasta et al., 2012a, 2012b). Moreover, the above studies suggest the possibility of establishing specific volatile compounds of meat as markers of its origin on the basis of which it could be possible to draw conclusions on the breeding system and on the method of feeding animals (pasture vs. stable), as well as on the breed and age of the animal (Young et al. 1997; Vasta et al. 2012b) from which the meat origi- nates. Also, many authors draw attention to the need to protect consumers from fraud (Vasta et al. 2012a), and emphasize the growing demand by consumers and other stakeholders in the chain of marketing of special and certified quality meats (meat from organic farming, meat bearing the protected quality label etc. that are increasingly present on the EU market, as is the supply and demand thereof ) for finding a simple and reliable analytical method (Sivadier et al. 2010) Volatile aroma compounds of dalmatian lamb Krvavica 1 , M., I. Boltar 2 , M. Bradaš 1 , T. Jug 2 , I. Vnučec 3 , N. Marušić Radovčić 4 SUMMARY The aim of the present study was to determine the volatile profile of Dalmatian lamb and offer a simple and reliable analytical method as an option for determining the specificity of certain types of meat of Croatian indigenous breeds of sheep and thereby contribute to the protection of their quality in the market. For this purpose, a SPME/GC/MS VOC analysis of roasted Dalmatian lamb loins was carried out and 88 compounds were isolated, out of which 17 aldehydes (47.45%), 11 alcohols (22.65%), 9 ketones (9.44%), 9 alkanes (3.84%), 5 alkenes (0.91%), 7 aromatic compounds (4.25%), 6 heterocyclic compounds (0.81%), 2 furans (1.21 %), 3 phenolic compounds (2.11%), 3 sulphur containing compounds (2.05), 3 carboxylic acids (0.49%), 5 esters (0.77%) and 8 terpenes (4.02%). By comparison with the available data from similar studies, there is a possibility that 34 volatiles isolated in samples of Dalmatian lamb have not been yet determined in tissues of other lamb breeds. But to draw more reliable conclusions further research in this direction should be carried out. Keywords: Dalmatian lamb, Croatian sheep breeds, aroma profile, meat volatiles Short communication 1 Asst. Prof. Marina Krvavica, Ph.D., Milijana Bradaš, mag.ing.agr.; Polytechnic “Marko Marulić“, Petra Krešimira IV 30, Knin, 2 Dr. Tjaša Jug; dr. Iva Boltar, Institute of Agriculture and Forestry, Pri hrastu 18, Nova Gorica, Slovenia 3 Asst. Prof. Ivan Vnučec, Ph.D., University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agronomy, Svetošimunska 25, Zagreb 4 Nives Marušić Radovčić, Ph.D. University of Zagreb, Faculty of Food Technology and Biotechnology, Pierotieva 6, Zagreb Corresponding author: mkrvavica@veleknin.hr