Assessment of Microbiological Quality and Physicochemical Parameters of Fruhe Made by Ovine and Goat Milk: A Sardinian (Italy) Cheese

Abstract

Fruhe (Casu axedu) is a fresh cheese, traditionally manufactured in Sardinia (Italy) from sheep or goat milk, characterized by a compact coagulum obtained from raw or heat-treated whole milk. The objective of this study was to investigate the microbiological quality and physicochemical parameters of the sheep and goat Fruhe types of cheese at 21 days of cold storage. Chemical analyses showed that all Fruhe cheese samples were characterized by a pH below 4.4 and a variable content of total solid (22.75–21.06 g/100 g) proteins (5.4–10 g/100 g) and fat (3.9–15.7 g/100 g). The average residual lactose content was 2.6 g/100 g, while lactic acid content was 1.8 g/100 g. Microbial analyses revealed a high number of Lactic Acid Bacteria for both thermophilic and mesophilic streptococci (9 log CFU/g), and no pathogenic bacteria were found. The content of Free Amino Acids and Free Fatty acids point out that a good activity of rennet and microbial enzymes occurred, although Fruhe cheese is not subject to a ripening process. The present research reports the microbiological and nutritional characteristics of the sheep and goat Fruhe cheese that could represent the basis for further investigations, needful to improve its nutritional quality and to preserve its peculiarities.

Assessment of Quality and Safety of Farm Level Produced Cheeses from Sheep and Goat Milk

“…All measurements were not much different between sheep and goat cheese samples. Results of fat content, dry matter, and pH in sheep cheese samples in Table 4 is higher than in study by Murgia et al [73] where the average detected fat content was 9.29 ± 3.02%, dry matter was 21.06 ± 5.61%, and pH value was 4.32 ± 0.07. Our results of physical and chemical indicators of goat cheese samples (Table 5) correspondent with study of goat cheeses made from organic goat milk [74] where the value of fat content ranges from 25.3 to 32.9% and the value of pH ranges from 5.20 to 6.05.…”

Quality Characteristics and Consumer Acceptance of High-Moisture Mozzarella Obtained from Heat-Treated Goat Milk

“…In general, the total amounts observed were in line with those reported by Murgia et al [41] in Fruhe, a traditional fresh goat cheese from Sardinia (Italy); however, a correspondence was not found under the qualitative point of view. In particular, the short-chain acids lacked in mozzarella, which probably depended on the shorter storage time, but also on type of rennet used.…”

Safety Issues Regarding the Detection of Antibiotics Residues, Microbial Indicators and Somatic Cell Counts in Ewes’ and Goats’ Milk Reared in Two Different Farming Systems

“…Despite these conclusions, it seems that not all CNS are technologically detrimental. Murgia et al (2020) [91] recognize the CNS as beneficial bacteria contributing to the ripening or to the fermentation of meat products and while they exert protection against spoilage bacteria through the production of bacteriocin-like metabolites.…”

“…The significantly fewer true positive samples of group B for antibiotic residues (OR = 3.6239, CI 95% 1.4844-8.8471, p = 0.0047), further suggest that fewer antibiotics were needed in that group, and this leaves open the discussion of a possible protective role of CNS under certain circumstances. Besides bacteriocin-like substances [91] that CNS produce, S. epidermidis produces a serine protease which inhibits biofilm formation by S. aureus and prevents colonization [92]. The protective action of CNS to their host is still debatable and strain and species specific [65,93,94].…”