| heal.abstract |
Samples of artisanal liquid rennets originated from 20 Feta cheemaking factories located in two different regions in Greece were grouped as rennets A and B, respectively, and analyzed for their chemical composition, microbiological quality and enzymic properties. In general, the obtained results indicated a marked variability of the composition of this rennet type, independently the region of production. The average values of the physicochemical characteristics of rennet A were pH 4.74, dry matter, protein, fat and salt content 12.6%, 1.99%, 3.65% and 6.5%, respectively, while the corresponding values of rennet B were 4.71%, 18.37%, 1.5%, 3.22% and 13.46%. The microflora of both, rennets A and B was consisted of relatively low populations. The mean counts of total mesophilic microflora, coliforms and enterococci, expressed as log10 cfu ml-1, in rennet A were 4.86, 2.61 and 3.11, while the respective values in rennet B were 4.39, 0.42 and 2.43. No pathogen like Salmonella sp. or S. aureus was found in any rennet. With regard to enzymic characteristics, rennet A had mean milk clotting activity 14.28 International Milk Clotting Units (IMCU)/ml, chymosin activity 61.91% of the total activity and lipolytic activity 1.15 Lipase Units (LU). The respective values of rennet B were 8.91 IMCU/ml, 63.11% and 0.86 LU. It was concluded that, no matter the region of origin, the total quality of the artisanal rennet used in Feta cheese is acceptable. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. |
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