Microbial community dynamics of a blue-veined raw milk cheese from the United Kingdom.

A commercial blue-veined cheese made from unpasteurized milk was examined by conventional culturing and PCR denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of the bacterial community 16S rRNA genes using 3 primer sets, V3, V4V5, and V6V8. Genomic DNA for amplification was extracted directly from raw milk, starter culture, cheese at different stages of production, fully ripened cheese, and from the cultured cells grown on various media. The outer rind was sampled separately from the inner white core and blue veins.

Diversity and activities of yeasts from different parts of a Stilton cheese.

Blue cheeses are very complex food matrices presenting significant spatial differentiation between sections and the Stilton variety also has a hard brown crust making its matrix even more complex. The mycobiota communities in the three sections (blue veins, white core and outer crust) of a Stilton blue cheese were studied by employing culture-independent (TRFLP, DGGE) and culture-dependent analyses. Yeasts isolated from the cheese were studied for aroma production in a dairy model system with and without the starter Lactococcus lactis and filamentous fungus Penicillium roqueforti using SPME GC-MS.