Assessment of Chemical Properties and Microbiological Quality of Vacuum Packaged or Unpackaged Lor (WHEY) Cheese Sold in Elazig Province

This study was carried out to determine the chemical properties and microbiological quality of lor (whey) cheeses which are sold as vacuum packaged or unpackaged in Elazığ province. For this purpose, fifty samples of lor cheeses (unpackaged, n=25 and vacuum-packaged, n=25) were analyzed for microbiological (Total mesophilic aerobic bacteria, Lactobacillus-Leuconostoc-Pediococcus, staphylococcus-micrococcus, coliforms, lipolytic bacteria, proteolytic bacteria, E. coli, yeast and mold,) and chemical (pH, acidity, aw, fat, salt, dry matter, and ash) properties. The value of titratable acidity and the amount of salt were found significantly higher (P<0.0001) in the samples of vacuum packaged (1.84±0.22 and 0.76±0.05) than in samples of unpackaged (0.46±0.11 and 0.46±0.02). The levels of Lactobacillus-Leuconostoc-Pediococcus (7.13±0.18 & 5.76±0.32 log10 cfu/g), proteolitic microorganism (6.23±0.15 & 4.22±0.42 log10 cfu/g), yeast and molds (4.14±0.31 & 1.86±0.23 log10 cfu/g) were significantly higher in vacuum-packed group compared to unpackaged group. On the other hand, the count of E. coli was a lower in the samples of lor cheese in vacuum packaged than the samples of unpackaged (2.52±0.21 & 3.41±0.31 log10 cfu/g). As a result, the lor cheese, which is sold with or without vacuum packaging, may present a potential risk to public health as it contains a large number of microorganisms. Therefore, although vacuum packaging protects the product against external contamination, hygienic conditions must be ensured before packaging Keywords: Vacuum package, Lor cheese, Microbiological Quality, Chemical Properties