Assessment of some microbiological and chemical properties of Lor whey cheese

Abstract

It has been aimed to evaluate some microbiological and chemical properties of Lot, which is a traditional Turkish whey cheese, in order to compare and assess legal limits for final product quality. Mean microbiological and chemical analyze results of 50 unpackaged Lor samples were 8 log cfu/g for total mesophylic aerobic bacteria, 4 log cfu/g for coliform bacteria, 3 log cfu/g for E. coli, 7 log cfu/g for lactic acid bacteria, 6 log cfu/g for enterococci, 5 log cfu/g for coagulase positive staphylococci, 5 log cfu/g for yeast and mould counts and 31.24% for dry substances, 12.69% for protein, 7.35% for fat, 2.21% for salt, 4.28% for ash, 0.59 for titratable acidity and 4.90 for pH value. Samples have been divided four groups against low/high salt concentrations and high/low moisture contents. Microbiological properties of selected samples have been assessed against their salt concentrations and moisture content. As a conclusion, some chemical limits, which were mainly salt and moisture content, have been suggested for whey cheese properties in order to support future legislative studies and safety margins for this product.