https://doi.org/10.4081/ijfs.2023.11290

Effect of a new sustainable cooling system used during firming and brining on the microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics of buffalo mozzarella cheese

Vol. 12 No. 3 (2023)
Submitted: 2 March 2023
Accepted: 24 May 2023
Published: 11 July 2023
Ammonia chiller, buffalo dairy supply chain, food industry, sustainable innovation
Abstract Views: 641
PDF: 163
HTML: 12
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

Marika Di Paolo
marika.dipaolo@unina.it
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5832-7116
Unit of Food Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Martina De Stefano
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8882-2618
Quality Assurance Manager, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Giulia Polizzi
Unit of Food Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Valeria Vuoso
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4110-571X
Unit of Food Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Adriano Michele Luigi Santoro
Unit of Food Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Aniello Anastasio
Unit of Food Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.
Raffaele Marrone
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2888-5846
Unit of Food Hygiene, Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.

The cooling applied during the firming and brining processes represents an important production step in mozzarella cheese-making. The temperature fluctuations of the cooling water can negatively affect the hygiene, composition, and quality of mozzarella. Some sustainable cooling systems can minimize this problem by using hot process fluids as heat sources to generate refrigerated energy. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a new cooling system equipped with a water-ammonia absorption chiller (MA) on the characteristics of buffalo mozzarella through a comparative study with products cooled with a traditional ice water chiller (MT). The buffalo mozzarella cheese manufacture was monitored, and the samples were analyzed for chemical, nutritional, microbiological, and sensory characteristics. The MT samples showed an overall weight loss of 7.4% compared to an average of 2.8% for the MA samples. The MT samples were characterized by greater sapidity than the MA ones, which instead showed a higher moisture content that increased juiciness. The microbiological analysis showed a lower concentration of mesophilic bacterial load in the MA samples than in the MT ones [difference of 1 Log (CFU/g)], which is probably due to the low and constant temperatures that reduced the permanence time of the mozzarella in the vats (firming and brining). This study represents a preliminary positive evaluation of the use of this sustainable cooling system for mozzarella cheese, which is useful for dairy plants with an annual cheese production volume sufficient to justify the operating cost of the plant and the annual energy cost.

Dimensions

Altmetric

PlumX Metrics

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC
Ahmad S, Anjum FM, Huma N, Sameen A, Zahoor T, 2013. Composition and physico-chemical characteristics of buffalo milk with particular emphasis on lipids, proteins, minerals, enzymes. J Anim Plant Sci 23:62-74.
Ambrosio RL, Smaldone G, Di Paolo M, Vollano L, Ceruso M, Anastasio A, Marrone R, 2021. Effects of different levels of inclusion of apulo-calabrese pig meat on microbiological, physicochemical and rheological parameters of salami during ripening. Animals 11:3060.
AOAC International, 2005. Official methods of analysis. 18th ed. Washington DC, USA: Association of Officiating Analytical Chemists.
Beccali M, Cellura M, Longo S, Nocke B, Finocchiaro P, 2012. LCA of a solar heating and cooling system equipped with a small water - ammonia absorption chiller. Solar Energy 86:1491-503.
Calandrelli M, 2007. Manual on the production of traditional buffalo mozzarella cheese. Available from: http://209.15.96.220/dairyasiathailand/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/22.-Manual-on-the-Production-of-Traditional-Buffalo-Mozzarella-Cheese.pdf
Di Paolo M, Vuoso V, Ambrosio RL, Balestrieri A, Bifulco G, Anastasio A, Marrone R, 2023. Role of feeding and novel ripening system to enhance the quality and production sustainability of curd buffalo cheeses. Foods 12:704.
European Commission, 2008. Commission regulation (EC) No 103/2008 of 4 February 2008 approving non-minor amendments to the specification for a name entered in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications — mozzarella di bufala campana (PDO). In: Official Journal, L 31/31, 5/02/2008.
European Parliament, 2011. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) NO 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing commission directive 87/250/EEC, council directive 90/496/EEC, commission directive 1999/10/EC, directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, commission directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 text with EEA relevance. In: Official Journal, L 304/18, 22/11/2011.
Faccia M, Mastromatteo M, Conte A, Del Nobile MA, 2012. Influence of the different sodium chloride concentrations on microbiological and physico-chemical characteristics of mozzarella cheese. J Dairy Res 79:390-6.
Fucà N, Mcmahon DJ, Caccamo M, Tuminello L, La Terra S, Manenti M, Licitra G, 2012. Effect of brine composition and brining temperature on cheese physical properties in ragusano cheese. J Dairy Sci 95:460-70.
Gonçalves MC, Cardarelli HR, 2021. Mozzarella cheese stretching: a minireview. Food Technol Biotechnol 59:82-91.
ISO, 1998. Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - horizontal method for the enumeration of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria - colony-count technique at 30 degrees C, Norm ISO 15214:1998. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO, 2006. Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of coliforms - most probable number technique. Norm ISO 4831:2006. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO, 2008. Microbiology of food and animal feeding stuffs - horizontal method for the enumeration of yeasts and moulds - part 1: colony count technique in products with water activity greater than 0,95. Norm ISO 21527-1:2008. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO, 2010. Meat and meat products — enumeration of presumptive pseudomonas spp. Norm ISO 13720:2010. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO, 2013. Microbiology of the food chain - horizontal method for the enumeration of microorganisms - part 1: colony count at 30°C by the pour plate technique. Norm ISO 4833-1:2013. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO, 2017. Microbiology of the food chain - horizontal method for the detection and enumeration of enterobacteriaceae - part 2: colony-count technique. Norm ISO 21528-2:2017. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
ISO, 2018. Microbiology of the food chain - horizontal method for the enumeration of beta-glucuronidase-positive escherichia coli - part 1: colony-count technique at 44 degrees C using membranes and 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl beta-D-glucuronide. Norm ISO 16649-1:2018. International Standardization Organization ed., Geneva, Switzerland.
Kristensena D, Hansen E, Arndalb A, Trinderupa RA, Skibsted L, 2001. Influence of light and temperature on the colour and oxidative stability of processed cheese. Int Dairy J 11:837-43.
Ma X, James B, Zhang L, Emanuelsson-Patterson EAC, 2013. Correlating mozzarella cheese properties to its production processes and microstructure quantification. J Food Eng 115:154-63.
Nadeem M, Situ C, Abdullah M, 2015. Effect of olein fractions of milk fat on oxidative stability of ice cream effect of olein fractions of milk fat on oxidative stability. Int J Food Prop 18:735-45.
OECD/FAO, 2022. Chapter 7 - dairy and dairy products. In: OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031. Available from: http://www.fao.org/3/CA4076EN/CA4076EN_Chapter7_Dairy.pdf.
Price PB, Sowers T, 2004. Temperature dependence of metabolic rates for microbial growth , maintenance , and survival. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 10:4631-6.
Salek RN, Buňka F, Černíková M, 2022. The use of different cheese sources in processed cheese. In: El-Bakry M, Mehta B. Processed cheese science and technology. 1st ed. Sawston, UK: Woodhead Publishing. pp. 79-113.
Sales DC, Ranhel AHDN, Urbano SA, Tonhati H, Galvão Junior JGB, Guilhermino MM, Aguiar EM, Bezerra MDF, 2018. Buffalo milk composition, processing factors, whey constituents recovery and yield in manufacturing mozzarella cheese. Food Sci Technol 38:328-34.
Stone H, Sidel J, Oliver S, Woolsey A, Singleton RC, 2004. Sensory evaluation by quantitative descriptive analysis. In: Gacula MC. Descriptive sensory analysis in practice. Trumbull (CT), USA: Food & Nutrition Press, Inc. pp. 24-32.
Uzun P, Masucci F, Serrapica F, Napolitano F, Braghieri A, Romano R, Manzo N, Esposito G, Di Francia A, 2018. The inclusion of fresh forage in the lactating buffalo diet affects fatty acid and sensory profile of mozzarella cheese. J Dairy Sci 101:6752-61.

How to Cite

1.
Di Paolo M, De Stefano M, Polizzi G, Vuoso V, Santoro AML, Anastasio A, Marrone R. Effect of a new sustainable cooling system used during firming and brining on the microbiological, chemical, and sensory characteristics of buffalo mozzarella cheese. Ital J Food Safety [Internet]. 2023 Jul. 11 [cited 2024 Nov. 21];12(3). Available from: https://www.pagepressjournals.org/ijfs/article/view/11290
Copyright (c) 2023 the Author(s) Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.