Characterisation of fungal contamination sources for use in quality management of cheese production farms in Korea

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the composition and diversity of the fungal flora at various control points in cheese ripening rooms of 10 dairy farms from six different provinces in the Republic of Korea.Methods: Floor, wall, cheese board, room air, cheese rind and core were sampled from cheese ripening rooms of ten different dairy farms. The molds were enumerated using YM petrifilm, while isolation was done on yeast extract glucose chloramphenicol agar plates. Morphologically distinct isolates were identified using sequencing of internal transcribed spacer region.Results: The fungal counts in 8 out of 10 dairy farms were out of acceptable range, as per hazard analysis critical control point regulation. A total of 986 fungal isolates identified and assigned to the phyla Ascomycota (14 genera) and Basidiomycota (3 genera). Of these <i>Penicillium</i>, <i>Aspergillus</i>, and <i>Cladosporium</i> were the most diverse and predominant. The cheese ripening rooms was overrepresented in 9 farms by <i>Penicillium</i> (76%), while <i>Aspergillusin</i> a single farm. Among 39 species, the prominent members were <i>Penicillium commune</i>, <i>P. oxalicum</i>, <i>P. echinulatum</i>, and <i>Aspergillus versicolor</i>. Most of the mold species detected on surfaces were the same found in the indoor air of cheese ripening rooms.Conclusion: The environment of cheese ripening rooms persuades a favourable niche for mold growth. The fungal diversity in the dairy farms were greatly influenced by several factors (exterior atmosphere, working personnel etc.,) and their proportion varied from one to another. Proper management of hygienic and production practices and air filtration system would be effective to eradicate contamination in cheese processing industries.

Monitoring and Characteristics of Major Mastitis Pathogens from Bulk Tank Milk in Korea

“…In Korea, most of the milk products are produced by five large dairy companies, which account for 84% of the total sales of dairy products in Korea [ 25 ]. They control and operate in all phases of the dairy production system [ 26 ]. Additionally, most dairy farms consist of herds living in confined space, resulting in a higher chance of contamination by environmental pathogens on teats of cows, as reported by Goldberg et al (1992) [ 27 ].…”

Occurrence of Yeasts in White-Brined Cheeses: Methodologies for Identification, Spoilage Potential and Good Manufacturing Practices

“…Consequently, with respect to white-brined cheeses, the problems with yeast spoilage mainly originate from environmental contamination(s) at some production stage(s) after the heat-treatment step. This has been stated by several studies in dairy plants, which pointed out that production facilities and, specifically, the contaminated air are major sources of yeast contamination of white-brined cheeses (Temelli et al, 2006;Beletsiotis et al, 2011;Stobnicka-Kupiec et al, 2019;Kandasamy et al, 2020). Stobnicka-Kupiec et al (2019) identified C. albicans, Candida glabrata, C. rugosa, D. hansenii, G. candidum, Rhodotorula spp., and Y. lipolytica from the air and surface samples of commercial and traditional Polish dairy plants.…”

Biological Activity of Extracts from Aromatic Plants as Control Agents against Spoilage Molds Isolated from Sheep Cheese

“…As Table 1 shows, the most common isolates were Penicillium (12 isolates, 85.7%) and Aspergillus (2 isolates, 14.3%); both belong to Ascomycota phylum (Pezizomycotina subphylum, class Eurotiomycetes) and are considered as the main food spoilage molds [ 5 ]. Several studies reported Penicillum and Aspergillus as the predominant genus found in cheese and dairy industries [ 7 , 8 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Moreover, the use of β-tubulin amplification and sequencing allowed the separation of closely related species of Penicillium and Aspergillus .…”