Ameliorating Shelf Life and Physicochemical Characteristics of UF White Soft Cheese Using Free or Microencapsulated <i>Lb. rhamnosus</i> and <i>Lb. paracasei</i> as a Sustainable Food System

ABSTRACT The present research aimed to ameliorate the shelf life of UF white soft cheese made from buffalo's milk retentate. To achieve this proposal, five treatments were made as follows: The control was manufactured without starters. Free strains of Lb. rhamnosus and Lb. paracasei have been added to T1 and T2, respectively, and the same microencapsulated strains have been added to T3 and T4, respectively. The cheese was stored at 4°C for 50 days and was examined chemically, rheologically, and microbiologically. The results indicated that control cheese contained lower titratable acidity (TA), moisture, total nitrogen (TN), water soluble nitrogen (SN), and ash ratio than in the other treatments. Total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) increased with the increase of the storage period in all treatments and the highest number of TVFA was recorded in T1. There were significant differences ( p ≤ 0.05) between T1 and other treatments at the end of the storage period. The cheese acceptability increased during the first period of ripening as well as at the other ripening periods (7, 14, and 21 days). However, the acceptability was gradually decreased in the control sample after 28 days and in T3 and T4 after 35 days, with the appearance of yeasts and fungi. Generally, at the end of the storage period, acceptability gained the highest score in treatments T1 and T2, respectively. It could be concluded that UF white soft cheeses made by using probiotic bacteria Lb. rhamnosus and Lb. paracasei had a good characteristics and longer shelf life with better quality.