Composition and physical properties of the Penicillium camemberti mycelium

Abstract

This paper concerns the Penicillium camemberti (PC) mycelium that grows on French soft cheeses, like Camembert or Brie. According to our knowledge, no author considered the PC as a packaging film around the cheese. Indeed, separation of PC and cheese is not possible because PC is rooted in the cheese crust. In the present study, we grew PC on agar gel and it could easily be separated from the medium. Chemical composition and physical properties of the film were determined using raw or laminated mycelium films. The raw PC mycelium simulated the film during industrial process before packaging and the laminated film simulated the film compressed in the packaging. PC mycelium had a high elasticity allowing its adaptation to cheese-dimensional changes during industrial processing. The water vapor permeability of 2.42 10-10 kg/m/s/Pa and a high capacity for water vapor fixation limit water transport from cheese crust to the atmosphere. PC mycelium acts as the first packaging film around cheese.