In-Depth Investigation of the Safety of Wooden Shelves Used for Traditional Cheese Ripening
Luca Settanni, Gabriele Busetta, Valeria Puccio, Giuseppe Licitra, Elena Franciosi, Luigi Botta, Rosalia Di Gerlando, Massimo Todaro, Raimondo Gaglio
Abstract
This study provides evidence for the lack of pathogenic bacteria on the wooden shelves used to ripen internal bacterially ripened semihard and hard cheeses produced in Sicily. These three cheeses are not inoculated on their surfaces, and surface ripening is not considered to occur or, at least, does not occur at the same extent as surface-inoculated smear cheeses. Several bacterial groups identified from the wooden shelves are typically associated with smear cheeses, strongly suggesting that PDO Pecorino Siciliano, PDO Piacentinu Ennese, and Caciocavallo Palermitano cheese rind contributes to their final organoleptic profiles.