Fungal Biota Isolated From Spanish Cheeses

Abstract

Fungal biota, with special reference to the genus Penicillium, was studied in 52 samples of commercial cheeses (10 fresh, I 7 semiripened and 25 ripened) made from different types of milk (cow, ewe, goat and mixed) produced in southern Spain. In 41 of the total of cheeses analyzed (79%) moldrr were isolated. Penicillium was identified in 63% of the samples, Mucor spp. in 27%, Geotrichum candidum in 17% and Cladosporium herbarum in 10%; eleven otherfingal genera were detected rangingfrom 2 to 4%. Thirty-five species of Penicillium were analyzed with the following distribution: 7 in fresh cheese, 16 in semiripened cheese and 30 in ripened cheese. The incidence of Penicillium spp. was also greater in the cheeses with a higher degree of ripeness, i.e. 20% in fresh cheese, 71% in the semiripened and 76% in the ripened cheese.

Molecular systematics in the genus Mucor with special regards to species encountered in cheese

“…commonly encountered in cheeses where they represent the second most prominent genus (Barrios 1998). Identifying different Mucor species found in cheeses is expected to be a prerequisite for characterizing the role of each species.…”

“…Mucor species can also be used as starters in food fermentations, especially fermented Asian foods such as sufu, ragi, and mureha (Hesseltine 1983) and in mouldripened cheeses. In a study by Barrios et al (1998), the fungal diversity of 52 mould-ripened cheeses was analysed and Mucor was reported to be the second most prominent genus after Penicillium. Mucor spp.…”

Occurrence and significance of Fusarium domesticum alias Anticollanti on smear-ripened cheeses

“…Other studies confirm the dominance of the two species mentioned above, but a relatively wide variety of moulds have been identified depending on the cheese variety. A majority of Penicillium species were found on Jarlsberg and Norvegia (Kure, Wasteson, Brendehaug, & Skaar, 2001); P. commune and P. glabrum, as well as a species of Cladosporium and Phoma glomerate were isolated in vacuum-packed cheese (Hocking & Faedo, 1992;Basilico, de Basilico, Chiericatti, & Vinderola, 2001); in fresh cheese, Geotrichum, Penicillium and Aspergillus were found in quantities ranging from 10 2 to 10 7 cfu/g (Arevalo, Rodriguezalvarez, Arias, & Sierra, 1996); in some varieties of Spanish cheese, the following species were isolated: Penicillium, Mucor, Geotrichum, and C. herbarum (Barrios, Medina, Lopez, & Jordano, 1998). Many of the moulds mentioned here result in undesirable effects such as discolouration, off-flavours and mycotoxin formation on the cheese.…”

Filamentous Fungi and Mycotoxins in Cheese: A Review

“…Few studies have extensively investigated fungal communities in cheeses. Barrios and others () provided a global view of mold diversity in 52 commercial cheese susing a culture‐dependent approach. Penicillium species were the most frequent (found in 63% of cheeses), followed by Mucor spp.…”