ABSTRACT
The aim of this research was to develop innovative cheeses fortified with vitamin D3 (VD3). Formulation studies and analyses of textural properties and chemicals were carried out for these developments. Two traditional Italian varieties of cheese (giuncata and burrata) were studied. For giuncata, the fortification of milk for cheese production provided a VD3 retention level of 43.9 ± 0.6% in the food matrix. For burrata, the VD3 ingredient was incorporated into the creamy inner part after mixing, maintaining the textural quality of the product (adhesiveness 4.3 ± 0.4 J × 10-3; firmness 0.7 ± 0.0 N; and cohesiveness 0.8 ± 0.2). The optimized enrichment designs allowed to obtain homogenous contents of VD3 during the production of giuncata (0.48 ± 0.01 µg/g) and burrata cheeses (0.32 ± 0.02 µg/g). Moreover, analyses revealed the high stability of VD3 during the storage of the two fortified cheese types (2 weeks, 4 °C). These fortification designs could be implemented at an industrial scale to obtain new cheese types enriched in VD3 and thus contribute to the reduction in VD deficiency prevalence.