Mild heat treatment and biopreservatives for artisanal raw milk cheeses: reducing microbial spoilage and extending shelf-life through thermisation, plant extracts and lactic acid bacteria

• Published in: Foods 2023-08, Vol.12 (17), p.3206
• Main Authors: Nunes Silva, Beatriz, Teixeira, José António, Cadavez, Vasco, Gonzales-Barron, Ursula
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antimicrobial; Antimicrobial agents; Bacteria; Bacteriocins; Biological products; Cellular structure; Cheese; Cultural heritage; Dairy; Dairy industry; Dairy products; Food; Food contamination; Food safety; Food science; Heat inactivation; Heat treatment; Heat treatments; Herbs; Inactivation; International economic relations; Lactic acid; Lactic acid bacteria; Microbial contamination; Microorganisms; Milk; Natural preservatives; Organic acids; Pasteurization; Pathogens; Phenolic compounds; Phenols; Plant extracts; Review; Sensory properties; Shelf life; Solvents; Spoilage; Ultrasonic imaging
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods12173206

The microbial quality of raw milk artisanal cheeses is not always guaranteed due to the possible presence of pathogens in raw milk that can survive during manufacture and maturation. In this work, an overview of the existing information concerning lactic acid bacteria and plant extracts as antimicrobial agents is provided, as well as thermisation as a strategy to avoid pasteurisation and its negative impact on the sensory characteristics of artisanal cheeses. The mechanisms of antimicrobial action, advantages, limitations and, when applicable, relevant commercial applications are discussed. Plant extracts and lactic acid bacteria appear to be effective approaches to reduce microbial contamination in artisanal raw milk cheeses as a result of their constituents (for example, phenolic compounds in plant extracts), production of antimicrobial substances (such as organic acids and bacteriocins, in the case of lactic acid bacteria), or other mechanisms and their combinations. Thermisation was also confirmed as an effective heat inactivation strategy, causing the impairment of cellular structures and functions. This review also provides insight into the potential constraints of each of the approaches, hence pointing towards the direction of future research. This work was supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020) and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020). The authors are also grateful to the EU PRIMA program and FCT for funding the ArtiSaneFood project (PRIMA/0001/2018). This study was supported by FCT under the scope of the strategic funding of the UIDB/04469/2020 unit and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020—Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. B.N. Silva acknowledges the financial support provided by FCT through the Ph.D. grant SFRH/BD/137801/2018.