Composition, proteolysis, and volatile profile of Strachitunt cheese.

Strachitunt, a blue-veined Italian cheese, received the Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) label in 2014. Its unique technological feature is represented by the dual-curd method of production. Strachitunt is produced from raw bovine milk with or without the inoculation of natural starter cultures of lactic acid bacteria, and the addition of secondary cultures of mold spores is not permitted by the product specification. Physico-chemical properties, proteolysis, and volatile profile of Strachitunt were investigated in 10 cheese samples (ripened for 75 d) made throughout spring 2015 and provided by the main cheese maker. Overall, composition parameters showed a large variability among samples. Cheese was characterized by an acid paste (pH 5.46) and a lower extent of proteolysis compared with other blue-veined varieties. The main chemical groups of volatile organic compounds were alcohols and esters, whereas ketones represented only a minor component. The erratic adventitious contamination by mold spores of the cheese milk, the unique dual-curd method of cheese-making, and the large time variability between the piercing time and the end of ripening could be highlighted as the main causes of both the distinctive analytical fingerprint and the scarce standardization of this blue-veined cheese.

Plants of the genus Allium as antibacterial agents: From tradition to pharmacy.

Plants belonging to the genus Allium are widely cultivated and used all over the world as food and medicinal plants. Since ancient times, these plants, particularly garlic (Allium sativum L.) and onion (Allium cepa L.), have represented important components of typical recipes and traditional healing systems. Not the least of which, their use as food biopreservatives is well documented, due to the relevant antibacterial activity of their extracts and essential oils. In addition to garlic and onion, this review article deals with the main members of the genus Allium, including A. ampeloprasum (Leek), A. schoenoprasum (Chive) and A. ascalonicum (Shallot), focusing both on their ethnonutritional uses and potential as promising food biopreservative agents. Noteworthy, recent research has demonstrated Allium derivatives to be novel components in active edible coatings as well as nanoformulates.

Determination of styrene content in Gorgonzola PDO cheese by headspace solid phase micro-extraction (HS-SPME) and gas-chromatography mass-spectrometry (GC-MS).

Control of the composition of products that are intended for use as packaging material is essential, particularly when these products come into direct contact with food. It is well known that plastics are not inert and that their residual monomers, starting substances, and additives are able to migrate into the food they contact. Among plastics, styrene is a common compound found in many plastic containers that can also be produced by the oxidation of Penicillium roqueforti used in gorgonzola Protected Denomination of Origin cheese manufacturing. Therefore, solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography/mass spectrometry was applied in the present work to determine the styrene content in packaged and unpackaged gorgonzola cheese samples to understand styrene migration phenomena from plastic containers.