A Trial for Improvement of Kareish Cheese Quality by Using Chitosan Nanoparticles

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Mycology and Mycotoxins, Animal Health Research Institute (AHRI), Agriculture Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.

2 Food Safety Reference Laboratory, (AHRI), Agriculture Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.

3 Department of Food engineering, packaging and packaging engineering. Agriculture Research Centre, Cairo, Egypt.

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the addition of nano-chitosan to kareish cheese for improvement their characters, including odour, tastes, colors and mycological quality. Out of 40 samples of kareish cheese were obtainedr and mly from retail farmers and supermarkets from different district in Giza Governorate, all samples were contaminated with fungi; the mean count/g was (1×103±2.4). The most common isolated mould species were Aspergillus spp. which isolated from (80%) meanwhile; all samples were contaminated with different yeast species. The residues of AFM1 were detected in 42 %, and theaccurate quantitative detection was observed in immunoaffinity column method than thin layer chromatography. The results revealed that the addition or coating with nano-chitosan (0.25% and 0.5%) before or after manufacturing of kareish cheese could cause their prolonged safe preservation as the nano-chitosan have the antimicrobial potential against several bacteria and fungi. Also, the colour, odour and taste of coated or added CSNPs cheeses were more accepted and palatable good characters were observed for a longer time of storage. Hence, it is anticipated that chitosan nanoparticles have the potential of becoming a powerful and safe natural antifungal agent. Therefore, the present study may provide the possibility of the addition of CSNPs to coating kareish cheese manufacture for quality improvement and extending its shelf life.

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