Cheese Research Articles

Mathematical Modeling of Cheese Bread Production: An Experience in Mathematics Teaching

Mathematics is a foundation of most areas of knowledge, endowed with an architecture that allows to develop cognitive and creative levels and has advocated its use in a variety of educational backgrounds. In this sense, this paper brings the development of a relationship of mathematics to the real. Thus, the use of mathematical modeling in the production of cheese breads recounts the experiences of two high school students in the discovery of a differentiated math. During the study, was obtained the economic viability of the product, the percentage of each ingredient, the time in the oven and the price came out at the end of each cheese bread. By this shows up the various areas of knowledge that mathematics is about, there is a huge interdisciplinary students approaching real content. The results were obtained from cheese bread recipe and through the various ingredients used, these products was evaluated its value and calculated the amount used for the preparation of the product. It was found how many loaves of cheese would manufactured with the recipe, gave the final value of the ingredients and the economic viability of this production.

Situación actual y retrospectiva de los quesos genuinos de Chiautla de Tapia, México.

En el municipio de Chiautla de Tapia, estado de Puebla, México, se elaboran dos tipos de queso, uno fresco y otro añejo, de manera artesanal, desde hace aproximadamente 100 años, y hoy forman parte de la historia e identidad de la población. En los últimos años se ha evidenciado un proceso gradual de extinción de este derivado lácteo, aspecto que se verifica en su menor presencia en los mercados locales. Los factores que contribuyen a la desaparición del queso son complejos y no han sido suficientemente estudiados; su comprensión resulta de gran importancia para diseñar e implementar estrategias para el rescate y la valorización de este patrimonio alimentario. Para identificar estos factores desde una visión multidisciplinaria se empleó la metodología propuesta por Grass, Cervantes y Palacios (2012) para el enfoque SIAL, que utiliza la Historia oral, el Método genealógico, la Trayectoria tecnológica, el Análisis de cadena, la Calificación y certificación del producto, y el Análisis de redes para acopiar información que se analiza posteriormente de manera integral. Se concluye que estos quesos son inocuos para el consumidor aunque se elaboran con leche cruda y que los factores que inciden en su desaparición tienen relación con aspectos geográficos, técnicos, económicos y sociales.

Stability of Lipases Produced by Yarrowia lipolytica in the Presence of Cheese Whey

Countries traditionally importers of bioproducts such as Brazil, India and China have been strong growth in research, production and market expansion of enzymes that moved around U$ 6x1012 in 2011. There are predicting an estimate of market growth of 6.3 % in 2013. Among the hydrolytic enzymes, lipases are ofindustrial interest and occupy a prominent position in global trade. These enzymes hav e been produced bymicroorganisms in the presence of industrial waste. The cheese whey is a by-product that retains approximately 55 % of the nutrients in milk that can be metabolized by Yarrowia lipolytica in bioproducts of commercial value. This study aimed to investigate the production and stability of metabolic liquid with lipolytic activity. Lipases were produced by Yarrowia lipolytica in the presence of cheese whey, olive oil and glycerol. A 24 factorial planning with four replications at the central point was proposed to investigate the best condition for producing these enzymes. Erlenmeyer’s flasks (250 mL) were filled with 100 mL of liquid medium in the presence of the inoculum to 10 % v/v (106 CFU/mL). The flasks were incubated at 28 °C with shaking at 150 rpm. The samples were collected, centrifuged and the supernatant used to determine pH and enzyme activity during 60 days of storage. The production reached maximum lipase 132IU/mL at 120 h of cultivation at pH 7.3 in the presence of whey at 10 %, glycerol 6 % and olive oil 0.2 %.The bioproduct with maximum activity showed enzymatic stability (156 IU/mL) for 60 days of storage in both refrigerated at 4 °C, as in a room temperature, at 28 °C. The presence of glycerol in the culture medium improved the stability of lipases for such chemical agent is a polyol which inhibits both the oxidation reaction and avoids protein deamidation.

Bio-hydrogen Production from Cheese Whey by Dark Fermentation

Bio-hydrogen Production from Cheese Whey by Dark Fermentation

Determination of relationships between milk composition and cheese yield using principal component analysis and logit model.

Cheese yield is affected by many factors including milk quality and composition. The application of a factor analysis method, so called Principal Components Analysis (PCA), has the final goal of establishing and analyzing those variables which influence in a meaningful way the cheese yield. The study was focused on a set of dates regarding the cow, buffalo, ewe and goat milk constituents and cheese, available in the related work. The data was then used in a principal component analysis, identifying such a number of 5 variables involved in cheese yield and also variables which determine the different textures.

Ancient cheese found with mummies

Ancient cheese found with mummies

Amazing Chesed: Living a Grace-Filled Judaism by Rabbi Rami Shapiro (review)

Amazing Chesed: Living a Grace-Filled Judaism by Rabbi Rami Shapiro (review)

Detection of Listeria monocytogenes in food samples in Avezzano, Sulmona and Castel di Sangro (province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy) between 2000-2009.

The retrospective study of the results of the analysed samples is a fundamental tool for the identification of major risk related to food and for planning future monitoring activities. The evaluation of the quality of data collected may also allow for estimating the effectiveness of the controls so to improve their efficacy. In this article, the authors evaluated the results of tests for the detection of Listeria monocytogenes performed by the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise 'G. Caporale' (IZSAM) on food samples collected during the years 2000-2009 in the territory of Avezzano, Sulmona and Castel di Sangro (province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy). The comparison of the data examined with those from studies conducted in Italy and in other countries shows that the categories with higher percentages of positivity for Listeria monocytogenes are meat and fish products. Data collected do not indicate cheese as a vehicle of contamination in the sampled areas, in contrast to what reported in the national and international literature. It would therefore be necessary to promote an ad hoc sampling in the areas covered by this study to verify this aspect in more depth.

Genesis and identity of Chanco cheese (Chile 1750-1860): A contribution to studies on Appellations of Origin in Latin America

The origin of Chanco cheese in Chile, between 1750 and 1860, is discussed. The inventories of eight cheese factories from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as additional documentary sources from the time period are studied. Chanco cheese was a cooked and matured cheese from cow and, mainly, sheep milk. The original productive zone was limited by the Maule and Itata rivers, in the Central Valley. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Chanco cheese was recognized as the best cheese in Chile; its production and marketing were well established during the first two thirds of the19th century, and it commanded good market prices based on its fame. Chanco cheese was eaten throughout almost the entire country, from Copiapo to Valdivia. Chanco cheese was also significantly exported during the middle of the 19 th century. El origen del Queso Chanco en Chile en el periodo 1750-1850 es discutido. Al efecto, fueron estudiados los inventarios de ocho fabricas de queso registradas en los siglos XVIII y XIX, ademas de otras fuentes documentales. El queso Chanco era un queso cocido y maduro hecho principalmente de leche de oveja y, en menor medida, de leche de vaca. La zona productiva original fue delimitada por los rios Maule e Itata, localizada en el Valle Central de Chile. En los siglos XVIII y XIX fue reconocido como el mejor queso de Chile. Su produccion y mercado se establecieron bien dentro de los dos primeros tercios del siglo XIX. Su fama le permitio obtener buenos precios de mercado. Fue comido en casi todo el pais, desde Copiapo a Valdivia. Tambien se hicieron significativas exportaciones del queso de Chanco aproximadamente a mediados del siglo XIX.

Cheese Belongs to You! by Alexis Deacon (review)

Cheese Belongs to You! by Alexis Deacon (review)

Aflatoxin M1 contamination in grated parmesan cheese marketed in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

This study aimed to determine the occurrence of AFM 1 contamination in the samples of grated parmesan ch eese marketed in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janei ro - Brazil. Thirty samples representing 10 major b rands marketed in the region were analyzed by High Perfor mance Liquid Chromatography with fluorescence detec tion (HPLC-FLD) after purification with immunoaffinity cThe method showed recovery values within the range of 70-90%, with RSD lower than 15% and limits of de tection and quantification below the maximum level allowed by the European Commission for the presence of AFM 1 in cheeses. The mycotoxin was identified in 18 (60% ) of the grated cheese samples tested. The highest value cor responded to 0.69 ± 0.02 μg/kg and the mean for all the analyzed samples was 0.16 μg/kg. All the samples were lower than the limit est ablished by the Brazilian legislation (2.5 μg/kg) for AFM 1 in cheeses in general. However, eight samples (26. 7%) presented AFM 1 levels above the tolerance limit of 0.25 μg/kg adopted by the European Commission. These results i ndicated that AFM 1 levels in the grated cheese consumed in Rio de Janeiro - Brazil w ere relatively high and it could provide a potentia l hazard for the public health.

Study Regarding the Influence of Country of Origin (COO) over the Consumer Decision-Making Process in Buying Food

The country of origin effect is considered to be the positive or negative influence that the country of origin of one product has over the consumer in the buying decision-making process. The COO could act as a barrier for the consumer or as stimuli for purchasing and is stronger when it comes of food products. The general aim of the research is to determine the Romanian consumer’s perceptions of local products and to determine how the COO effect influences the consumers. Two focus groups were organized in Cluj-Napoca. Participants were asked to mention for different food products the country of origin they prefer to be the producer from. The interview consisted also in asking the participants to rank attributes such as: price, brand and country of origin, important to them in the buying decision-making process. Results indicate that for some food products such as (cheese, meat and vegetables) the consumers prefer local Romanian products while for others (sweets, wine) they are willing to buy foreign products. Results indicate that price and brand are more important than the country of origin when it comes of some food products like sweets and wine, while for products like dairy, fruits, vegetables, it is important their country of origin. The COO effect is necessary to be studied among the Romanian consumers because of the future implementation of labels of origin for different food products which will be sell on different markets. Therefore, it is important that first of all, the country of origin influence should be studied over the Romanian consumers.

Investigation of Escherichia coli O157 in Turkish homemade white cheese

Verositotoksin ureten Escherichia coli (VTEC) gida zehirlenmeleri gibi ciddi halk sagligi risklerine neden olan onemli patojendir. Cig sut ile cig sutten ya da yeterli derecede pastorize edilmemis sutten yapilan peynirler VTEC serotip E. coli O157 enfeksiyonlari icin potansiyel bir kaynak teskil etmektedir. Bu calismada, kirsal kesimde uretilen toplam 245 adet Turk ev yapimi beyaz peynir ornegi cesitli acik halk pazarlarindan toplanmistir. Toplanan ornekler E. coli serotip O157’nin varligi acisidan arastirilmistir. Sefiksim-tellurite (CT) ihtiva eden sorbitol MacConkey (CT-SMAC) besiyerinden sorbitolu fermente etmeyen toplam 21 koloni E. coli O157 varligi acisindan supheli izolat olarak tespit edildi. E. coli O157 varligi acisindan supheli izolatlar ticari E. coli O157 lateks aglutinasyon test kitine ureticinin talimatlari dogrultusunda tabi tutuldu. Turk halki tarafindan sevilerek tuketilen toplam 245 Turk ev yapimi beyaz peynirin hicbirinde E. coli O157 varligi tayin edilmedi. Sonuc olarak, bu sevilen gidada E. coli O157’nin yoklugu sevindirici bir tespittir. Bununla beraber, gidalarda tuketici sagligi icin onemli bir gida kaynakli patojen olan E. coli O157:H7’nin varligina yonelik titiz incelemenin gerceklestirilmesi tavsiye edilir.

Production and properties of health-promoting proteins and peptides from bovine colostrum and milk.

The high nutritive value and diverse functional properties of milk proteins are well known. Beyond these qualities, milk proteins have attracted growing scientific and commercial interest as a source of biologically active molecules. Such proteins are found in abundance in colostrum which is the initial milk secreted by mammalian species during late pregnancy and the first few days after birth of the offspring. The best characterized colostrum-based bioactive proteins include alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin, immunoglobulins, lactoferrin, lactoperoxidase and growth factors. All of them can nowadays be enriched and purified on an industrial scale from bovine colostral whey or cheese whey. These native proteins exhibit a wide range of biological activities that are known to affect the digestive function, metabolic responses to absorbed nutrients, growth and development of organs and disease resistance. Also, some of these proteins may prove beneficial in reduction of the risks of chronic human diseases reflected by the metabolic syndrome. It is speculated that such potentially beneficial effects are partially attributed to bioactive peptides derived from intact proteins. These peptides can be liberated during gastrointestinal digestion or fermentation of milk by starter cultures. The efficacy of a few peptides has been established in animal and human studies and the number of commercial products supplemented with specific milk peptides is envisaged to increase on global markets. Bovine colostrum appears as a highly potential source of biologically active native proteins and peptide fractions for inclusion as health-promoting ingredients in various food applications.

Microbiological and chemical contamination in different types of food of non-European origin

In the markets of the European Union (EU) the presence of food imported from non-European countries such as Asia, Africa and America is increasingly more widespread. Non-European countries, indeed, are much more competitive in terms of prices compared to European countries. For these reasons, EU has issued important laws. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of these regulations, estimating the levels of microbiological and chemical contamination of food samples of 91 different matrices imported from third countries. The microbiological methods used are those required by the UNI EN ISO, while for the determination of chemical parameters validated methods according to the Standard UNI EN ISO 16140:2003 were used. Our investigation revealed qualitative or quantitative microbial contamination in 23 out of 91 samples analysed (25.2%). We found high total microbial loads in alimentary conserves, multiple bacterial contamination ( Salmonella thiphymurium , Escherichia coli and Vibrio alginolyticus ) and viral contamination ( Norovirus ) in shellfish of the species Cassostrea gigas , and the presence of other pathogens in various products such as hamburgers ( Yersinia enterocolitica ), frozen fish ( Listeria monocytogenes ) and honey ( Bacillus cereus ). With regard to chemical contamination, 24 samples of different food products were analysed. In 9 samples (37.5%), the levels of the following substances exceeded the permitted limits: histamine (fish conserves), mercury (crab meat), cadmium (crab meat and fish conserves), lead (cheese and honey) and polyphosphates (chicken meat). Despite the limited number of samples analysed, these data prompt reflection on the need to implement a more detailed and rigorous activity of monitoring and control in order to guarantee adequate levels of safety with regard to the consumption of foodstuffs imported into the EU from non-European countries.

Cattle, cheese and conservation

Cattle, cheese and conservation

Influence of ripening conditions on Scamorza cheese quality.

Scamorza is a pasta filata cheese produced in Southern Italy and eaten after a short ripening. The ripening phase is critical in defining the main qualitative features of the Scamorza cheese. The success of this operation is conditioned not only by the process parameters, but also by the characteristics of the ripening room in which different microclimates originate. This work intended to evaluate the influence of the different positions of cheeses within the ripening room on the evolution of their qualitative characteristics during the process of drying/ripening. For this purpose, samples of Scamorza cheese, produced in the Molise Region (Italy), were divided into two batches (C and L) and subjected to ripening for seven days in a thermo thermo-regulated room. The two batches were placed in different points of the room: the batch C in the central area and the batch L in the lateral area. During the ripening, temperature, humidity and air flow were monitored and the Scamorza cheeses were analysed to assess some qualitative characteristics. In a ripening room, the created microclimates are able to influence the quality of the product, as demonstrated by data related to temperature, humidity and air flow. In fact, from the results obtained, some appreciable differences among products from batches C and L were observed for the weight loss, the water activity and the colorimetric indexes. Differences in the behaviour of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria, pH and acidity were also found. The more rapid loss of water, characterizing the batch C, resulted in an evolution of physicochemical, physical and microbiological features, which resulted different from those observed in the samples from the batch L. Therefore, the results obtained in this study point out that, within the ripening room, the formation of different micro-environments is able to strongly influence the definition of the qualitative characteristics of the products placed in it.

Microbiological quality of Ayib, traditional Ethiopian cottage cheese, in Jimma area, South-West Ethiopia

This study was conducted on randomly selected 150 samples of soft cheese (Ayib)collected from five vendors of open market places at Jimma town and its surrounding districts: Dedo, Seka, Serbo and Yebu markets to determine microbial quality. Samples were taken three times from the same vendors at different market days with sterile screw cap bottles while categorized into two: leselasa (soft) and derake (dried) soft cheeses.Samples were collected following standard procedures and then cultured on plates of aerobic plate count (APC) agar, violet red bile lactose agar (VRBL agar) and violet red bile glucose agar (VRBG agar) for aerobic mesophilic bacteria, coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae count, respectively. Bacterial identification was done by culturing on selective medium and biochemical test using Bergey’s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology Identification flow chart. The mean count of coliforms, Enterobacteriaceae and aerobic mesophilic bacteria count were 5.709, 6.504 and 8.844 cfu/g, respectively. Significant difference (P<0.05) was observed between places in all microbial count parameters and between categories in coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae count. The dominant bacterial pathogens isolated from Ayib samples in decreasing order were E. coli (20.67%),Staphylococcus aureus (18.00%), Vibrio spp. (12.67%) and Vibrio parahemolyticus (12.00%); and also Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Staphylococci spp.,Shigella flexneri, and Proteus mirabilis. The high bacteria count, and isolates of different species of pathogenic suggested higher risk of public health and hence the need for improved hygienic practice at all levels during milk production and processing. Key words: Ayib, aerobic mesophilic bacteria, coliforms, cottage cheese, Enterobacteriaceae, Jimma.

Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella species isolated from foods of animal origin in Turkey

The present study includes 50 Klebsiella oxytoca, 45 Escherichia coli and 13 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from raw meat (chicken drumsticks and minced meat), raw milk, white cheese and ice cream samples and was undertaken to determine the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing isolates and antibiotic resistance. The double-disk synergy test was used to determine ESBL production. ESBL production was detected in 20 of 45 E. coli (44.4%), 5 of 13 K. pneumoniae (38.5%) and 13 of 50 K. oxytoca (26%) isolates. Resistance of all isolates to 14 antibiotics was determined by the disk diffusion method. All isolates showed resistance to ampicillin but none exhibited resistance to imipenem, ertapenem, cefepime and piperacillin/tazobactam. E. coli andKlebsiella spp. isolates have also been found resistant to cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, aztroenam, tetracycline and ciprofloxacin. All isolates were resistant to two or more antimicrobial agents. Key words: β-Lactamases, antibiotic resistance, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., foods.

Biofilm, protease and lipase properties and antibiotic resistance profiles of staphylococci isolated from various foods

In this study, a total of 209 isolates were isolated from raw calf meat (minced), chicken drumsticks, raw milk, ice cream and white cheese samples. One hundred and seventy-five (83.7 %) coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CNS) and 34 (16.3%) coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS) were isolated from these samples. The majority of Staphylococcusisolates showed biofilm formation (75.1%) and slime formation (68.4%). The frequency of positive protease and lipase production for Staphylococcus aureus isolates were 23.5 and 11.8%, respectively. Proteolytic and lipolytic activitiy were not found in the otherStaphylococcus species. The overall antimicrobial susceptibility profiles revealed that the highest percentage of resistance was detected for ampicillin (33.8%), tetracycline (26.3%), erythromycin (20.6%), methicillin (17.2%) and gentamicin (12.4%). The susceptibility to vancomycin, chloramphenicol, amikacin and clindamycin were 100% for all isolates. Key words: Coagulase positive, coagulase negative Staphylococcus, biofilm, slime, lipase, protease, antibiotic resistance, foods