ABSTRACT
Several microorganisms present in a cheese or on its surface can cause flavor and or texture defects. Microorganisms in the milk are almost completely entrapped in the curd, and this raises their number per gram of cheese by a factor of 7 to 11, as compared to the count per milliliter of clotted milk. Nevertheless, growth of the microorganisms is nearly always needed to produce defects. The growth is determined by the following factors:
The microbial composition of the milk
: Important aspects are: • Hygienic measures during milking and milk handling; this is espe-
cially important for cheese made of raw milk. • Pasteurization; low pasteurization of the milk kills most spoilage
organisms, with the exception of
Clostridium
spores (Section 7.3.4). • Bactofugation; this can substantially reduce the microbial count,
including the number of
Clostridium
spores. • Recontamination of the milk after pasteurization or bactofugation.
