Effect of different levels of somatic cells count on the quality of fermented milk and Minas fresh cheese

Abstract

This study was developed with the objective of evaluating the effects of different levels of somatic cell count (CCS) in milk on the qualitative parameters of fermented milk and Minas Frescal cheese. Milk samples were collected from nine cows, and the animals were divided into three groups: low CSS (<300,000 cell / mL), average CCS (300,000 to 600,000 cell / mL) and high CCS (> 600,000 cell / mL). With the milk from each group, fermented milk and Minas Frescal cheese were produced and these were evaluated for 30 and 20 days, respectively. In the sensory evaluation, there were no differences in the attributes evaluated due to the different levels of CCS for fermented milk. However, for Minas Frescal cheese, only the product made from milk containing low and medium CCS had the highest average scores for color, flavor, texture, appearance and global acceptance. For fermented milk, significant interactions were observed between treatments and time (P <0.05), for color parameters b*, pH and syneresis, whereas the interactions observed in cheese were for color parameters a*, b*, pH and acidity. The quality of Minas Frescal cheese is negatively influenced when the CCS of the milk used in production is greater than 600,000 cell / mL. However, fermented milk does not suffer the same influence as CCS for consumer acceptance.