Detection of caprine casein in ovine Halloumi cheese

Abstract

Abstract Halloumi cheeses were made from different mixtures of ovine and caprine milk, and in some cases from bovine milk also. The casein fractions of the cheese were analyzed for para-κ-casein using cation-exchange high performance liquid chromatography for para-κ-casein. The detection of caprine casein in cheese was based on the retention times and on the peak areas of caprine and ovine para-κ-caseins. Bovine para-κ-casein in Halloumi cheese could not be detected. The detection limit of caprine milk in the total of ovine and caprine cheese milk was 5%, w/w. The estimated percentages of caprine para-κ-casein detected in the cheese were lower than the corresponding percentages of caprine milk in the cheese milk. However, the levels of caprine para-κ-casein in the cheese were significantly correlated with the level of caprine milk in the ovine-caprine milk mixture used for cheese manufacture.