Shelf life extension of mozzarella cheese packed in preserving liquid with calcium lactate and bergamot juice concentrate.

Traditional Mozzarella is a fresh cheese produced in Italian local market without additives that shows a short shelf life of about 5 d. This work tested the use of natural additives (bergamot juice concentrate-BJ and calcium lactate-CL) in preserving liquid for a Mozzarella cheese with the aim to extend its shelf life, regarding the microbial growth and overall cheese quality. Results of qualitative analyses showed that the preserving liquid with the mix of BJ and CL promoted an extension of mozzarella shelf life up to 20 d.

Evaluation of different salted governing liquids on shelf life extension of lacto-fermented mozzarella cheese.

The effect of different governing liquids on qualitative parameters of lacto-fermented mozzarella cheeses were studied. 0.6% calcium lactate solution maintained the quality of mozzarella cheese for microbial, color and textural properties and prolonged its shelf life up to 18 days, also improving its antioxidant activity by Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity and Oxygen radical absorbance capacity assays.