Investigation of Histamine, Some Microbiological and Chemical Attributes in Herby Cheeses

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In this study, histamine content, pH level and some microbiological characteristics of herby cheeses sold in Van, Siirt, Batman and Diyarbakır provinces were investigated. For this study, 10 herby cheese samples from each provinces were taken to the laboratory under cold chain and subjected to the analysis as soon as possible. Histamine levels in the cheese samples were detected by ELISA method. Total aerobic bacteria, Enterobacteriaceae, Lactobacillus spp. and yeast-mold counts were determined for microbiological characteristics. The results showed that herby cheeses except for those that obtained from Van province had ≥3.0 log10 CFU/g Enterobacteriaceae, ≥5.4 log10 CFU/g yeast-mold, ≥7.0 log10 CFU/g Lactobacillus spp., ≥6.6 log10 CFU/g total aerobic colony bacteria, as averagely. The samples obtained from Van province, Enterobacteriaceae, yeast-mold, Lactobacillus spp. and total aerobic colony counts were 1.0, 3.1, 4.6 and 4.5 log10 CFU/g, respectively. Means pH values were between 4.7 and 5.3. Means histamine levels of herby cheeses obtained from Van, Siirt, Batman and Diyarbakır were 23.1, 45.5, 42.6, 42.4 mg/100 g. It was detected that there was a high correlation between histamine level and aerobic colony count (P 0.0005), and positive correlation between histamine level and lactic acid bacteria was detected (P 0.001). It was observed that hygienic quality of some herby cheeses was poor, and histamine levels of these cheeses may rise to the dangerous levels that could affect human health. Therefore, it would be beneficial to use milk with high hygienic quality in cheese making and to implement hygienic rules during processing, storage and marketing stages of cheese.

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Herby cheese , histamine , microbiological quality

Fırat University Veterinary Journal Of Health Sciences

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Fırat University Veterinary Journal Of Health Sciences