Produção, avaliação físico-química, microbiológica e sensorial de queijo de cabra probiótico tipo “Boursin”

Abstract

Even more people look for products that offer better quality of life and promote health. Goat's milk is considered a highly nutritious food; however, its characteristic flavor still makes this milk and dairy products little consumed by Brazilian consumers. The addition of probiotic cultures is a strategy to improve benefits for health, increase the aggregate value and stimulate the productive sector. Moreover, it also can improve the sensory characteristics of the products. The purpose of this study was to produce probiotic goat cheese type "Boursin" using two probiotic cultures and evaluate the physical-chemical, microbiological and sensory characteristics during 35 days in cold storage. Three treatments of goat cheese type "Boursin" were produced: without the addition of probiotic culture (Control), added of the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB12 (BB) and added of the probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LR). Physical-chemical analyzes of moisture, protein, fat, ash, pH and acidity were performed, and the count of Salmonella sp., Total Coliform and E. coli were also conducted. Counting of lactic acid bacteria was carried out to establish the viability of the probiotic during the shelf life and after in vitro simulation into the human gastrointestinal tract. The acceptance of different treatments was evaluated using 9- point structured hedonic scales. The samples and the expected Ideal goat cheese were characterized by cheese consumers using the Check-all- that-apply (CATA) methodology. Survival analysis was used to investigate the cheeses shelf life. Significant differences were observed (p <0.05) in the levels of protein, moisture and fat of the cheeses. It was found low counting of coliforms and Salmonella ssp. and E. coli in all samples. The viability of probiotic cultures B. lactis and L. rhamnosus was not affected during refrigerated storage of the products, reaching scores greater than 7 log CFU / g. B. lactis presented greater resistance to artificial gastric and enteric juices when compared to L. rhamnosus with 0.2 to 4 log CFU / g mean decreases of the initial populations, respectively. It was found difference in the participants’ preference, and three groups of consumers have been identified. Consumers were able to perceive differences in sensory characteristics of the samples and none of them was similar to the Ideal goat cheese. The attributes that drove the acceptance and were considered necessary to increase the average acceptance were tenderness, nice appearance, smooth texture, pleasant aroma, mild aroma and white color. Sour taste and strong flavor were considered negative, responsible for causing a decrease in acceptance. The goat cheese samples reached shelf life longer than 35 days of storage. The results show that the goat cheese type "Boursin" is a promising matrix for incorporation of probiotic cultures B. lactis and L. rhamnosus being a viable strategy to improve the nutritional characteristics of cheeses and add value to the product, as it did not negatively affect the acceptance and cheeses’ sensory characteristics.