Abstract
The purpose of this study was to assess the chemical and microbial characteristics of 12 batches of artisanal Fiore Sardo, a protected designation of origin (PDO) hard cheese made from raw ewe's milk without addition of starters, during maturation. High standard deviations were observed for moisture percentage, total solids percentage and NaCl percentage content, possibly owing to differences in manufacturing processes and/or milk composition. Total mesophilic bacteria varied between 10 log10 cfu/g in 48‐h‐old cheese samples and 3 log10 cfu/g in 9‐month‐old samples. Total coliforms and staphylococci showed the highest counts at 48 h of ripening then decreased significantly, dropping to levels below 2 log10 cfu/g at 3 months of maturation. Lactic acid bacteria and enterococci were the dominant micro‐organisms throughout maturation. They were mainly represented by the species Lactococcus lactis ssp. lactis, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus casei group. Low levels of yeasts were detected throughout the maturation period of the cheese. Debaryomyces hansenii and Kluyveromyces lactis var. lactis were the prevalent yeast species isolated.
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