Determination of Elemental Contents and Microbiological and Chemical Properties of Çökelek Cheeses Consumed in Turkey

Abstract

The Çökelek samples what 30 different, were collected from randomly local bazaars to investigate heavy metal contaminant and mineral levels and some physicochemical and microbiological properties of samples. The As was detected in the 4 of 30 samples, while the Pb was determined in the 6 of 30 samples. The mean major and trace element contents of Çökelek samples were ordered as Na > P > Ca > K > Mg and Al > Zn > Ni > Cu, respectively. The physicochemical properties indicated a high deviation among samples. The mean total solids, ash, salt, fat, protein waters soluble nitrogen contents and ripening index of samples were 29.83%, 1.88%, 0.68%, 4.31%, 19.84%, 0.33%, and 1.79%, respectively. The mean TAMB count of Çökelek samples were found as 8.26 log CFU g − 1 . The coliform bacteria and yeastmold counts were detected in 11 and 27 of 30 samples, respectively. The mean coliform and yeast-mold counts were 1.82 log CFU g − 1 and 7.11 log CFU g − 1 , respectively. There are not mentioned traditional cheeses in the legal rules such as the Turkish Food Codex. So, there is no legal limit and standard production processes. This situation is a problem in terms of traditional cheese quality. For this reason, traditional cheese should perform a further studied, and determine the legal limits.

Transglutaminase induced whey cheese production: impact of different ratios on yield, texture, and sensory properties

“…However, there was no significant difference between samples (p>0.05), indicating that the addition of mTG did not cause a change in RI values. The average RI values in different studies with similar cheeses were 1.79, 2.11, and 2.63 (Kalaycı et al, 2022;Kavaz and Arslaner, 2012). These results suggest differences in the composition and characteristics of different whey cheese samples, which could be due to factors such as milk source, processing techniques, or ripening conditions.…”