0716 Effect of microencapsulated iron salts on cheddar cheese divalent cation balance and composition

Abstract

Milk is considered an important source of macro- and micronutrients but naturally low in iron content. Cheese and other dairy products had been fortified with iron with low success due to negative changes in composition and organoleptic attributes. There is limited information about using microencapsulation of iron compounds in dairy products. Minerals have the ability to displace one another in any system; consequently, it is expected that encapsulation will avoid divalent cation displacement within the cheese matrix. The objective of this study was to analyze divalent cation balance in fortified cheddar cheese with microencapsulated ferrous sulfate. Furthermore, proximate analysis was done to provide more information about any compositional changes after fortification. Cheddar cheese was manufactured using standard cheddar cheese procedures a total of three times. Cheddar cheese was fortified with either large microencapsulated ferrous sulfate (LMFS; 0.9536 g microencapsulated ferrous sulfate/kg cheese and 700–1,000 μm diameter) or small microencapsulated ferrous sulfate (SMFS; 1.7801 g microencapsulated ferrous sulfate/kg cheese and 220 to 422 μm diameter). Iron treatment was incorporated to cheddar cheese processing in the salting step but omitted for the control. After 90 d of aging, calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc content were analyzed using atomic absorption spectroscopy and percent recoveries were calculated. Moisture, ash, fat, and protein analysis were done using AOAC methods. All collected data was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test (P = 0.05). Iron content for all treatments were significantly different (P < 0.05): approximately 0.030 mg Fe/g cheese for the control, 0.134 mg Fe/g cheese for LMFS, and 0.174 mg Fe/g cheese for SMFS. Results showed 81.3% iron recovery for LMFS and 90.0% iron recovery for SMFS. Proximate analysis and magnesium, zinc, and calcium content were not significantly different when comparing fortified cheeses with the control. Overall, microencapsulated ferrous sulfate caused no major changes in terms of cheddar cheese composition and successfully increased iron content. Microencapsulated ferrous sulfate with smaller diameter showed slightly better results for iron retention in cheddar cheese. The proposed fortified cheddar cheese can help increase total iron intake for children, pregnant women, vegetarians, and those whose diets are likely to be deficient in iron by providing at least 5 mg Fe (30% RDA) per serving.