Effect of Polymer Bags with High Vapor Permeability on Semi-Hard Cheeses

Ensuring consistent quality of semi-hard cheeses during ripening and storage is a pressing issue in the modern cheese industry. Packaging material affects the sensory profile and yield of the finished product by regulating moisture and gas exchange with the environment. The article describes the effect of the new Amivak MVR-S high-vapor-permeability bags on the development and preservation of the physicochemical and sensory quality indicators of semi-hard cheeses. The research featured samples of Dutch cheese, three types of polymer bags, and a polymer coating. The list of parameters to be measured included active acidity, moisture distribution across the cheese layers, and shrinkage over 90 days, as well as a sensory assessment. The coating type significantly affected the moisture distribution. The lowest weight loss belonged to the low-vapor-permeability bags Amivak SN-V-7 (0.30 ± 0.07%). The samples stored in Amivak MVR-S demonstrated a shrinking of 4.54 ± 0.07% while the samples stored in Pak-Age bags shrank by 5.57 ± 0.07%. In the cheeses with a natural rind and a polymer coating, the shrinkage reached 13.46 ± 0.04 and 10.49 ± 0.05%, respectively, while the surface layers demonstrated a significant deviation of active acidity from the standard values. As for the sensory assessment, an increase in vapor permeability led to a deterioration in consistency and a taste depletion in the peripheral layers. The polymer bags, including Amivak MVR-S, proved to be an effective solution for the production of low-scald cheeses, securing the standard flavor profile and weight loss.