Microbial and chemical composition of Cheddar cheese supplemented with prebiotics from pasteurized milk to aging

Abstract

Microbial and chemical properties of cheese is crucial in the dairy industry to understand their effects on cheese quality. Microorganisms within this fat, protein, and water matrix are largely responsible for physiochemical characteristics and associated quality. Prebiotics can be used as an energy source for lactic acid bacteria in cheese by altering the microbial community and provide the potential for value-added foods, with a more stable probiotic population. This research focuses on the addition of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) or inulin to the Cheddar cheese-making process to evaluate the effects on microbial and physicochemical composition changes. Laboratory-scale Cheddar cheese produced in 2 replicates was supplemented with 0 (control), 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0% (wt/wt) of FOS or inulin using 18 L of commercially pasteurized milk. A total of 210 samples (15 samples per replicate of each treatment) were collected from cheese-making procedure and aging period. Analysis for each sample were performed for quantitative analysis of chemical and microbial composition. The prevalence of lactic acid bacteria (log cfu/g) in Cheddar cheese supplemented with FOS (6.34 ± 0.11 and 8.99 ± 0.46; ± standard deviation) or inulin (6.02 ± 0.79 and 9.08 ± 1.00) was significantly higher than the control (5.84 ± 0.27 and 8.48 ± 0.06) in whey and curd, respectively. Fructooligosaccharides supplemented cheeses showed similar chemical properties to the control cheese, whereas inulin-supplemented cheeses exhibited a significantly higher moisture content than FOS and the control groups. Streptococcus and Lactococcus were predominant in all cheeses and 2% inulin and 2% FOS-supplemented cheeses possessed significant amounts of nonstarter lactic acid bacteria found to be an unidentified group of Lactobacillaceae, which emerged after 90 d of aging. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that prebiotic supplementation of Cheddar cheese results in differing microbial and chemical characteristics.

Taxonomy, Sequence Variance and Functional Profiling of the Microbial Community of Long-Ripened Cheddar Cheese Using Shotgun Metagenomics

“…However, functional profiling was not used to differentiate cheeses made from raw milk or pasteurized milk. In a study on Cheddar cheese using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing (genus-level taxonomy from total DNA), the addition of prebiotics (2% inulin or FOS) led to a significantly higher abundance of Lactobacillaceae NSLAB after 90 days of ripening, but the level attained was about 15% at this age [ 28 ]. Either smoking or soaking Cheddar cheese in beverages (pinot noir wine, hard apple cider or porter beer) affected the succession of bacterial taxa on the surface versus the core of the cheeses over 3 to 6 m of aging [ 29 ].…”

Involvement of Versatile Bacteria Belonging to the Genus Arthrobacter in Milk and Dairy Products

“…The presence of bacteria of the genus Arthrobacter in cheeses, especially smear-ripened and mold surface-ripened cheeses, has previously been reported. Arthrobacter species have been identified as one of the important bacteria among a diversity of microorganisms in smear-ripened cheeses due to their occurrence at different stages of the ripening process [ 27 , 28 ]. Theoretically, surface ripening begins with the growth of yeasts, depending on the cheese variety, mainly Debaryomyces hansenii , Kluyveromyces marxianus , Yarrowia lipolytica , and the yeast-like mold Geotrichum candidum , which colonize the cheese surface and metabolize lactic acid and provide growth factors useful to bacteria during the initial period of ripening [ 18 , 19 , 22 ].…”

“…Colonies of Arthrobacter strains having been found at different stages of ripening during cheese production, it is then assumed that Arthrobacter spp. is one of the major microorganisms contributing to the typical texture, flavor, and color properties of the final product [ 27 , 28 , 34 ].…”

“…It is then assumed that A. arilaitensis could be one of the microorganisms that would produce pigments on cheese rind, contributing to its characteristic overall color. [ 27 , 28 , 34 ]. The color is due essentially to carotenoids, in combination with other pigments, produced by the cheese microflora during ripening [ 43 , 44 , 45 ].…”

Effect of Lactobacteria on Bioactive Peptides and Their Sequence Identification in Mature Cheese

“…This product is an integral part of almost all traditional cuisines, and its historical role in human diet can hardly be overestimated. Cheese is easy to digest and rich in nutrients, which makes it an important and versatile source of proteins, short-chain fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals, depending on the region [ 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ].…”