The Microbiota of Grana Padano Cheese. A Review

• Published in: Foods Vol. 10; no. 11; p. 2632
• Main Author: Giraffa, Giorgio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 29.10.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Bacteria; Cheese; cheese microbiota; Composition; core microbiota; Dairy products; Food science; Grana cheese; Grana Padano cheese; Lactic acid; Lactic acid bacteria; Manufacturing; Metagenomics; Microbiology; Microbiota; Microorganisms; Milk; non-starter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB); Nutritive value; Organoleptic properties; protected designation of origin; raw milk; Review; Ripening; starter lactic acid bacteria (SLAB); undefined starters; starter lactic acid bacteria (SLAB); microbial dynamics; microbial selection; cheese microbiota; Grana Padano cheese; core microbiota; non-starter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB); pan microbiota; undefined starters
• ISSN: 2304-8158; 2304-8158
• DOI: 10.3390/foods10112632

Grana Padano (GP) is the most appreciated and marketed cheese with Protected Designation of Origin in the world. The use of raw milk, the addition of undefined cultures (defined as ‘sieroinnesto naturale’), the peculiar manufacturing proces, and the long ripening make the cheese microbiota play a decisive role in defining the quality and the organoleptic properties of the product. The knowledge on the microbial diversity associated with GP has been the subject, in recent years, of several studies aimed at understanding its composition and characteristics in order, on the one hand, to improve its technological performances and, on the other hand, to indirectly enhance the nutritional quality of the product. This review aims to briefly illustrate the main available knowledge on the composition and properties of the GP microbiota, inferred from dozens of studies carried out by both classical microbiology techniques and metagenomic analysis. The paper will essentially, but not exclusively, be focused on the lactic acid bacteria (LAB) derived from starter (SLAB) and the non-starter bacteria, both lactic (NSLAB) and non-lactic, of milk origin.