Biogenic Amine Content in Retailed Cheese Varieties Produced with Commercial Bacterial or Mold Cultures

Nevijo Zdolec,Vesna Dobranić,Marta Kiš,Jozo Grbavac,Snježana Kazazić,Krešimir Severin,Tanja Bogdanović,Sandra Petričević,Jelka Pleadin

doi:10.3390/pr10010010

Nevijo Zdolec, Vesna Dobranić + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10010010

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Abstract

Biogenic amines (BAs) are considered a potential microbiological toxicological hazard in aged cheese. Risk mitigation strategies include good hygiene practice measures, thermal treatment of milk and the use of competitive dairy cultures. The aim of this study was to evaluate the amount of BAs—tryptamine, β-phenylethylamine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, tyramine, spermidine and spermine—in the core and rind of cheeses ripened by bacteria (n = 61) and by mold cultures (n = 8). The microbial communities were counted, and the dominant lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were identified, corresponding to the BA concentrations. The total BA content was highest in the core of semi-hard cheeses (353.98 mg/kg), followed by mold cheeses (248.99 mg/kg) and lowest in hard cheeses (157.38 mg/kg). The highest amount of BAs was present in the rind of cheeses with mold (240.52 mg/kg), followed by semi-hard (174.99 mg/kg) and hard cheeses (107.21 mg/kg). Tyramine was the most abundant BA, represented by 75.4% in mold cheeses, 41.3% in hard cheese and 35% of total BAs in semi-hard cheeses. Histamine was present above the defined European maximum level (ML) of 100 mg/kg in only two semi-hard and three hard cheeses. High amount of BAs (above 600 mg/kg) in cheeses, mainly tyramine, were associated with the presence of Enterococcus durans, while negligible BA concentrations were found in cheeses ripened with Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus, Lactococcus lactis or Lacticaseibacillus paracasei cultures. This study has shown that retailed cheese varieties produced with commercial bacterial or mold cultures have acceptable levels of biogenic amines with respect to consumers.

Highlights

Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight compounds associated with the decarboxylation activity of microorganisms in fermented foods, in aged cheeses [1,2]. they have a number of different regulatory functions in animal and plant tissues, as well as in microbial cells, their formation and sustainability in food requires attention, as consumption of foods containing large amounts of Biogenic Amines (BA) may have serious toxicological consequences [2]
This study shows that BA content is lowest in hard, long-ripened cheeses, which contrasts with other findings claiming a direct effect of ripening time and intense proteolytic changes with accumulation of BAs [7,27,28]
This study has shown that retailed cheese varieties produced with commercial bacterial or mold cultures have acceptable levels of biogenic amines with respect to consumers

Summary

Introduction

Biogenic amines (BAs) are low molecular weight compounds associated with the decarboxylation activity of microorganisms in fermented foods, in aged cheeses [1,2] They have a number of different regulatory functions in animal and plant tissues, as well as in microbial cells, their formation and sustainability in food requires attention, as consumption of foods containing large amounts of BAs may have serious toxicological consequences [2]. They are formed during the ripening and storage of cheese, and the factors affecting BA formation are pH, salt concentration, bacterial activity, humidity, storage temperature and ripening time [3]. The average concentrations of BAs in the samples of hard cheeses (e.g., Parmesan) were found to be significantly higher than in other cheeses

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