Modelling CO2 transfer in foil ripened semi-hard Swiss-type cheese

F Acerbi,V Guillard,M Saubanere,C Guillaume,N Gontard

doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2017.10.025

Abstract

Despite CO2 production and diffusion during ripening of semi-hard Swiss-type cheese are considered as important quality parameters, the research concerning key gas production and transfer in cheese remains widely overlooked. In this study, experimentally assessed CO2 production was coupled with transfer coefficients in a mathematical model in order to predict CO2 gradients formed inside the cheese during ripening. The permeability coefficient of CO2 through the multilayer barrier packaging which wraps the cheese during ripening was also included in the model. The presented model was validated by assessing the CO2 concentration in the cheese and its partial pressure in the packaging headspace. CO2 production rate was found to be the most important input parameter affecting CO2 gradients formed in cheese during ripening whereas the other input parameters (solubility, diffusivity, permeability) had little effect on the total CO2 gradient.

Highlights

In food engineering, mathematical modelling of physical mechanisms such as heat or mass transfer was used for many years to simulate and optimize/control operation units such as drying or salting (Bona et al, 2007; Mayor and Sereno, 2004; Payne and Morison, 1999; Santapaola et al., 2013)
The modelling approach proposed by Laridon (2014) concomitantly took into account mass transfer of gas (CO2 produced by bacteria and responsible of eyes’ growth), production of the CO2 and mechanical constraint imposed to cheese paste by this production
This paper presents an unprecedented modelling approach that successfully describes the mechanisms of CO2 diffusion, solubilisation and production by Swiss-type cheese with intensive 469 propionic acid bacteria (PAB)-based CO2 production and CO2 permeation through the ripening foil

Summary

Introduction

Mathematical modelling of physical mechanisms such as heat or mass transfer was used for many years to simulate and optimize/control operation units such as drying or salting (Bona et al, 2007; Mayor and Sereno, 2004; Payne and Morison, 1999; Santapaola et al., 2013) More recently these models were coupled to biological ones such as Mickaëlis Menten equation that formalize the aerobic respiration (Ho et al, 2011; Guillard et al, 2012), chemical reaction for oxidation (Bacigalupi et al, 2013) or predictive microbiology models in order to better represent the evolution of the packed food during storage (Chaix et al, 2015). The aim of this study was to develop and experimentally validate in various conditions, mimicking the ripening conditions of Swiss-type cheese, a mathematical diffusion reaction model to predict CO2 gradients in packed cheeses during ripening. 60

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