Novel Technologies for Preserving Ricotta Cheese: Effects of Ultraviolet and Near-Ultraviolet-Visible Light

• Published in: Foods Vol. 9; no. 5; p. 580
• Main Authors: Ricciardi, Emilio Francesco, Pedros-Garrido, Selene, Papoutsis, Kostas, Lyng, James G, Conte, Amalia, Del Nobile, Matteo A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 05.05.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Cheese; Dairy products; Decontamination; Food; Food science; irradiation treatments; Light emitting diodes; microbial inactivation; Microorganisms; non-thermal technology; NUV–vis light; Pseudomonas fluorescens; ricotta cheese; Sensory evaluation; Sensory properties; Shelf life; Ultraviolet radiation; UV-C; United Kingdom > UK; United States > US; Germany; UV-C; ricotta cheese; irradiation treatments; microbial inactivation; non-thermal technology; NUV–vis light
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods9050580

Ricotta cheese is a potential growth medium for a wide range of microorganisms. The aim of the current study was to investigate the efficacy of ultraviolet (UV-C) and near-ultraviolet-visible light (NUV-vis) in microbial decontamination of ricotta artificially inoculated with . Cheese samples were stored at 4 °C, and microbiological and sensory analyses were performed for 9 days. From the microbiological point of view, control samples became unacceptable after less than 5 days, whereas ricotta treated by both UV-C and NUV-vis light remained acceptable for more than 6 days. Similar effects of UV-C and NUV-vis light were also recorded in terms of sensory quality. The shelf life of the samples subjected to the treatments was thus extended by 50%, suggesting the potential application of UV-C and NUV-vis light for cheese decontamination.