Search results for "Traditional cheese"

Evaluation of antimicrobial resistance and virulence of enterococci from equipment surfaces, raw materials and traditional cheeses

2016

Forty enterococci isolated along the production chains of three traditional cheeses (PDO Pecorino Siciliano, PDO Vastedda della Valle del Belìce, and Caciocavallo Palermitano) made in Sicily (southern Italy) were studied for the assessment of their antibiotic resistance and virulence by a combined phenotypic/genotypic approach. A total of 31 Enterococcus displayed resistance to at least one or more of the antimicrobials tested. The strains exhibited high percentages of resistance to erythromycin (52.5%), ciprofloxacin (35.0%), quinupristin–dalfopristin (20.0%), tetracycline (17.5%), and high-level streptomycin (5.0%). The presence of tet(M), cat(pC221), and aadE genes for resistance to tetr…

An overview of the microbiological characteristics of the wooden shelves used in cheese ripening

2022

Cheese ripening is a complex phenomenon affected by several factors. Among these, the influence of the wooden shelves used for aging traditional cheeses is underrated. The surfaces of the wooden boards are in contact with cheese rind for the entire ripening period and develop a microbial community. The aims of this review article is to provide an overview on the microbiological approaches applied to study the biofilms associated to the wooden tools used for dairy productions and to summarize the studies specifically performed on the wooden shelves used to ripen traditional cheeses. A critical discussion is focused on the hygienic aspects and the safety of these systems applied in cheese pro…

Polyphasic Characterization of Microbiota of “Mastredda”, a Traditional Wooden Tool Used during the Production of PDO Provola dei Nebrodi Cheese

2021

The biofilms of the wooden tables used for the acidification of the curd were investigated for PDO Provola dei Nebrodi cheese, a traditional stretched cheese made in eastern Sicily (southern Italy) from raw cows’ milk. To this purpose the wooden tables of four dairy facilities were analysed for their microbiota by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis and a combined culture-independent and -dependent microbiological approach. SEM inspection showed an almost continuous biofilm formation. MiSeq Illumina analysis identified 8 phyla, 16 classes, 25 orders, 47 families and 50 genera. Corynebacterium, Bifidobacterium and lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were detected in all samples. In particular…

Selected lactic acid bacteria as a hurdle to the microbial spoilage of cheese: Application on a traditional raw ewes' milk cheese

2013

To evaluate the efficacy of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to improve the hygienic safety of a traditional raw milk cheese, the raw ewes’ milk protected denomination of origin (PDO) Pecorino Siciliano cheese was used as a model system. Different Pecorino Siciliano curds and cheeses were used as sources of autochthonous LAB subsequently used as starter and non-starter LAB. These were screened for their acidification capacity and autolysis. Starter LAB showing the best performance were genotypically differentiated and identified: two strains of Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis were selected. From the nonstarter LAB, Enterococcus faecalis, Lactococcus garvieae and Streptococcus macedonicus strains…

Microbial Activation of Wooden Vats Used for Traditional Cheese Production and Evolution of Neoformed Biofilms.

2016

ABSTRACT Three Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris strains were used to develop ad hoc biofilms on the surfaces of virgin wooden vats used for cheese production. Two vats (TZ) were tested under controlled conditions (pilot plant), and two vats (TA) were tested under uncontrolled conditions (industrial plant). In each plant, one vat (TA1 and TZ1) was used for the control, traditional production of PDO Vastedda della Valle del Belìce (Vastedda) cheese, and one (TA2 and TZ2) was used for experimental production performed after lactococcal biofilm activation and the daily addition of a natural whey starter culture (NWSC). Microbiological and scanning electron microscopy analyses showed differenc…

A large factory-scale application of selected autochthonous lactic acid bacteria for PDO Pecorino Siciliano cheese production

2016

The main hypothesis of this study was that the autochthonous lactic acid bacteria (LAB) selected for their dairy traits are able to stabilize the production of PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) Pecorino Siciliano cheese, preserving its typicality. The experimental plan included the application of a multi-strain lactic acid bacteria (LAB) culture, composed of starter (Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis CAG4 and CAG37) and non starter (Enterococcus faecalis PSL71, Lactococcus garviae PSL67 and Streptococcus macedonicus PSL72) strains, during the traditional production of cheese at large scale level in six factories located in different areas of Sicily. The cheese making processes were foll…

Microbial strategies to improve the final quality of traditional Sicilian cheeses

Microbiological characterization of the biofilms of wooden shelves used for ripening of traditional raw milk cheeses produced in Sicily (South Italy).

The production of artisanal Sicilian cheeses is generally carried out with wooden equipment. For centuries, wood has been the main material used in cheese making due to its availability, low cost and resistance over time. Among dairy wooden equipment, the wooden vat used for milk curdling plays a role of paramount importance to inoculate the bulk milk with desired lactic acid bacteria (LAB) responsible for the acidification of the curd. In the last few years, the biofilms associated to these containers have been object of study of different research groups, mainly Italian and French, but so far, very little is known about the microbiological characteristics of the wooden shelves used for ch…

Preliminary Evaluation of the Influence of Traditional Dairy Plant Equipment on the Microbiological Quality of “Caciocavallo Palermitano” Cheese

2010

Caciocavallo Palermitano” is a raw cows’ milk cheese produced within Palermo province (Sicily), processed according to “pasta-filata” cheese technology without starter addition. Production flow-sheet includes a 15-minute milk bulk resting in “tina”, the traditional wooden vat used for cheese-making. This study was aimed to evaluate the influence of traditional equipment on the characteristics of cheese; at this stage, it was forwarded to the characterization of the microbiological populations of “Caciocavallo Palermitano” during each step of manufacturing. Two milk bulks (A and B), from different farming systems, were compared before and after resting in tina. After delivery at dairy factor…

UTILIZZO DEL LATTODINAMOGRAFO PER LA VALUTAZIONE DELL’ATTIVITA’ COAGULANTE DI CAGLI IN PASTA ARTIGIANALI.

2013

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of Formagraph to determine the milk clotting activity of animal Sicilian rennet pastes. Clotting time (r), curd firming time (k20) and curd firmness (a30) were measured during coagulation tests carried out with pasteurized cows’ milk. The rennet paste samples were collected in 11 dairy factories located throughout western Sicily. The factories produce two different pasta-filata cheese typologies, Caciocavallo Palermitano and PDO Vastedda della valle del Belìce, made with cows raw milk and ewe raw milk, respectively. Commercial liquid calf rennet Naturen and two industrial rennet pastes prepared from kid and lamb abomasums were used for compariso…