Abstract
The side effects and potential impacts on human health by traditional chemical additives as food preservatives (i.e., potassium and sodium salts) are the reasons why novel policies are encouraged by worldwide public health institutes. More natural alternatives with high antimicrobial efficacy to extend shelf life without impairing the cheese physicochemical and sensory quality are encouraged. This study is a comprehensive review of emerging preservative cheese methods, including natural antimicrobials (e.g., vegetable, animal, and protist kingdom origins) as a preservative to reduce microbial cheese contamination and to extend shelf life by several efforts such as manufacturing ingredients, the active ingredient for coating/packaging, and the combination of packaging materials or processing technologies. Essential oils (EO) or plant extracts rich in phenolic and terpenes, combined with packaging conditions and non-thermal methods, generally showed a robust microbial inhibition and prolonged shelf life. However, it impaired the cheese sensory quality. Alternatives including EO, polysaccharides, polypeptides, and enzymes as active ingredients/nano-antimicrobials for an edible film of coating/nano-bio packaging showed a potent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial action during shelf life, preserving cheese quality parameters such as pH, texture, color, and flavor. Future opportunities were identified in order to investigate the toxicological effects of the discussed natural antimicrobials’ potential as cheese preservatives.
Highlights
We report here in this review the dosage values in terms of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum fungicide concentration (MFC), or minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) values reported in the reviewed articles
Despite lemongrass oil (LO) (Cymbopogon citratus) decreasing the physical and sensory quality of cheese at the end of 15 days of storage, LO encapsulated in a liposome (1 mL·LO/100 g) promoted a count reduction in L. monocytogenes on Kerrygold Cheddar 59% that was higher than free LO and the control, without affecting the color surface, texture, and sensory quality of cheese at the end of storage [69]
In this review, we discussed the main microorganism contaminating cheese (e.g., Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria, coliforms, yeasts, and molds) as the most crucial factor in cheese preservation and how unsuitable traditional chemical additives can be once potential harmful impacts on human health by their use as a food preservative had been reported as the reason for concern by several researchers
Summary
Edible films/coatings were very recently examined as the most widely used system for delivering essential oils/extracts as potential preservatives and antioxidants in cheese [21] This promising strategy has been prospected to possess continuous growth in the future, enhanced by novel and emerging alternatives from nanotechnology [22] such as polymers as the matrix for nanodispersions/nanocomposites to form edible coatings for food preservation [23]. Our study proposed a comprehensive review of the main spoilage/pathogenic microorganisms in cheese reported worldwide, the natural antimicrobials of several origins beyond plants and their primary mechanisms of action of phytochemicals associated, and its usage to reduce microbial count and to extend the shelf life of cheese without impairing cheese quality by several attempts (e.g., as a manufacturing additive, the active ingredient for coating/packaging, and combined methods with packaging conditions or processing technologies)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
