Effect of high-pressure treatment on hard cheese proteolysis

Abstract

The application of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment has been proposed to reduce the ripening time of cheese via modifications in the enzymatic activities or the substrate reactivity. Investigations on the effect of HHP on cheese proteolysis have been undertaken with either encouraging results or little effect according to the treatment conditions and the type of cheese, but information concerning the effect of HHP on the ripening of hard cooked cheese is still lacking. In this report, we describe the effect of HHP treatment on Reggianito cheese proteolysis. For that purpose, 1-d-old miniature cheeses (5.5-cm diameter and 6-cm height) were treated at 100 or 400MPa and 20°C for 5 or 10min, and control cheeses in the trial were not pressurized. All cheeses were ripened at 12°C during 90d. The HHP did not affect gross composition of the cheeses, but microbial load changed, especially because the starter culture count was significantly lower at the beginning of the ripening of the cheeses treated at 400MPa than in controls and cheeses treated at 100MPa. Cheeses treated at 400MPa for 10min had significantly higher plasmin activity than did the others; the residual coagulant activity was not affected by HHP. Proteolysis assessment showed that most severe treatments (400MPa) also resulted in cheeses with increased breakdown of αS1- and β-CN. In addition, nitrogen content in soluble fractions was significantly higher in cheeses treated at 400MPa, as well as soluble peptides and free AA production. Peptide profiles and individual and total content of free AA in 60-d-old treated cheese were as high as in fully ripened control cheeses (90d). Holding time had an effect only on pH-4.6-soluble nitrogen fraction and plasmin activity; cheese treated for 10min showed higher values than those treated for 5min, at both levels of pressure assayed. We concluded that HHP treatments at 400MPa applied 1d after cheesemaking increased the rate of proteolysis, leading to an acceleration of the ripening process in Reggianito Argentino cheese, whereas 100-MPa treatments did not lead to significant changes.

Physico-chemical and biochemical properties of low fat Cheddar cheese made from micron to nano sized milk fat emulsions

“…As expected, pH 4.6 SN increased over the ripening period from D7 to D180 (Fig. 2) in all cheeses due to breakdown of caseins to peptides and amino acids by the activity of plasmin and residual coagulant enzymes (Costabel et al, 2016;Fenelon and Guinee, 2000). The pH 4.6 SN was not affected by the size of fat particles in LFCs at all-time points.…”

“…Findings of peptide profile obtained in this study were similar to Juan et al (2016) and Costabel et al (2016) for the cheese prepared by ultra-high pressure homogenization at 200 MPa and hard cheese prepared by pressurized milk at 100 or 400 MPa, respectively.…”

Effect of High-Pressure Technologies on Enzymes Applied in Food Processing

“…Enzymes present in dairy products include those endogenous of milk (as phosphatase, lactoperoxidase, lysozyme, latoferrin and plasmin), proteases and lipases from microbial origin, being these microorganisms from a contamination (especially present in milk stored for long time before processing) or intentionally added in dairy products, such as yogurt, fermented milk and cheese [59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71].…”

“…In dairy products, the action of these enzymes can be mostly desirable (enzymes that act as antimicrobials, preventing dairy product contamination) or eventually desirable depending on the product (e.g. lipase and protease are important for cheese maturation, but elevated activity can produce bitter peptides and rancid flavor) [70,71]. Therefore, enzyme activation or inactivation can be desirable in different dairy products and in different time of product shelf life.…”

Antimicrobial packaging and high hydrostatic pressure: Combined effect in improving the safety of coalho cheese

“…The search for technological practices that can minimize economic and health losses, without damaging the quality of food, has become relevant. Among the non-thermal technologies aimed at serving the food market, the high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) (Fellows, 2006; Gava et al., 2009) can be applied individually (Costabel et al., 2016) or in combination with other conservation methods (Arqués et al., 2005). Another emerging technology that has attracted the attention of the food industry includes active antimicrobial packaging (AAP) incorporated with natural antimicrobial compounds, with oregano essential oil (OEO) being a broad-spectrum antimicrobial against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria (Artiga-Artigas et al., 2017; Hosseini et al., 2015).…”