Use of galactomannan edible coating application and storage temperature for prolonging shelf-life of “Regional” cheese

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThe objectives of this work were to determine the influence of the application of two different coatings (galactomannan and chitosan) and of storage temperature on the gas exchange rate of ''Regional" cheese; subsequently, the coating that showed the greatest influence on the cheese gas exchange and simultaneously decreased the O 2 consumption ðR O 2 Þ and the CO 2 production ðR CO 2 Þ rates was applied on cheese, being the shelf-life parameters monitorized through the performance of chemical and microbiological analyses. Both coatings caused a reduction of R O 2 and R CO 2 of the cheese (between 0.19-and 1.30-fold for R O 2 and between 0.19-and 1.50-fold for R CO 2 , depending on the temperatures). The cheese coated with the galactomannan coating was the one with the lower values of R O 2 (between 0.195 and 0.635 mL kg À1 h À1 ) and R CO 2 (between 0.125 and 0.900 mL kg À1 h À1 ). Temperature was also found to have an important effect on R O 2 and R CO 2 , its influence being well described by an Arrhenius equation with coefficients of determination, R 2 , of 0.85 and above. The chemical and microbiological analyses showed that the application of the coating in cheese samples can be used to decrease the water loss and the colour changes during the storage time. The presence of the coating decreased the moisture loss of the cheese in 2.5% and 1.9%, and the weight loss in 3.8% and 3.1% at 4°C and 20°C, respectively. Also, the hardness of the cheese can be decreased as a result of the interaction of the presence of the coating with changes in the storing temperature. In the studied range (4-20°C) temperature has a statistically significant effect in moisture loss, colour change, hardness and total mesophilic bacterial growth.Overall, galactomannan coating can be used to improve ''Regional" cheese shelf-life as it decreases R O 2 and R CO 2 , improves its weight and appearance and can be used to incorporate natural preservatives to reduce post contamination.

Evaluation of a chitosan-based edible film as carrier of natamycin to improve the storability of Saloio cheese

“…Then, 37 days was reported as the last sampling time. Cerqueira et al (2010) found statistically lower counts (P < 0.05) for total mould/yeast and mesophilic bacteria counts in Saloio cheese coated with galactomannan when compared to the uncoated cheeses, stored at 20°C, but these differences disappeared when the samples were stored at 4°C. These results are in agreement with those observed in this work, where the effectiveness of the chitosan-natamycin coating was demonstrated when the cheeses were inoculated with moulds and stored at 25°C, temperature at which the microorganisms grow faster.…”

Development of Edible Films and Coatings with Antimicrobial Activity

“…The coating was successful for prolonging the shelf life of Fuji apple wedges by 2 weeks of storage compared with the control apple slices which showed shelf life of less than 4 days. In another study, Cerqueira et al (2010) coated a commercial semi-hard cheese with a galactomannan coating and observed that the cheese shelf life was improved as the coating decreased the O 2 consumption and the CO 2 production rates, enhancing the weight and appearance. The authors finally remarked that coating can be used to incorporate natural preservatives to reduce post contamination.…”

Utilization of Edible Films and Coatings as Packaging Materials for Preservation of Cheeses

“…Regional (semi-hard) cheese was coated with solutions of chitosan (0.5% chitosan, 2% glycerol/sorbitol), and galactomannan extracted from Gleditsia triacanthos seeds (1.5% galactomannan, 2.0% of glycerol and 0.5% of corn oil) stored at different temperature and the rate of gas exchanges were followed [11]. Cheese coated with galactomannan showed the highest decrease in gas exchange, decreased moisture content (2.5 and 1.9%) and weight losses (3.8 and 3.1% at storage temperature of 4 and 20°C, respectively.…”