The Effect of Temperature on Physicochemical and Microbiological Aspects of Serrano Artisanal Cheese Ripening

Abstract

: The serrano artisanal cheese (SAC) is a traditional raw milk dairy produced in southern Brazil. The maturation temperature plays a crucial role regarding the cheeses’ microbiological and physicochemical features and has been underexplored when it comes to unpasteurized milk dairy in Brazil. The objective of the present work is to evaluate the effect of ripening temperature on foodborne bacteria (total and thermotolerant coliforms, positive coagulase Staphylococcus and the production of its enterotoxin, Listeria monocytogenes , Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp.) and physicochemical attributes (moisture, water activity, pH, acidity and sodium chloride concentration) of SAC during maturation at 5ºC-20ºC for up to 60 days. Metagenomic analysis was also evaluated through the rDNA 16S