Hygienic quality of dairy products from ewe and goat milk
1996
Emaldi, G.C. (Comitato Italiano della Federazione Internazionale Latte, Milano (Italy))
The production of safe dairy products by traditional technological processes is discussed in relation to the rich, complex, but still not well-known, microflora of ewe and goat milk. In addition to natural milk souring and lactic acid fermentation, traditional technology has resulted in different, safe cheeses / fermented milks which can be classified as follows: fermented milk products; brine pickled cheese; long-ripened hard and semi-hard salty cheeses; kneaded hard and semi-hard salty cheeses; blue-veined salty cheese; cheese from acid-clotted milk; whey cheese and heat-shocked cheese curd. The parameters of traditional cheesemaking are still present, but current cheese quality is quite different from the unpredictable characteristics of years past. Reduced severity of traditional antimicrobial barriers (for example salt, pH, water activity, ripening time) can lower the hygienic "safety net" that resulted from the composition of traditional cheeses made from ewe and goat milk. Nevertheless, dairy products can be manufactured from ewe and goat milk to high standards of hygienic quality. On the other hand, one should not neglect the benefits of traditional cheesemaking as still practised in large areas of the world where it would be economically impossible to match strict standards of hygiene. As a result, attitudes towards the hygienic quality of ewe and goat milk cheese production are split between past and present, with possible hazards occurring when modern technology is applied to traditional procedures. The two patterns of hygienic quality will probably evolve separately according to the degree of safety desired of the products - but the situation may be improved by linking hygienic quality and the excellent characteristics of traditional cheese
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