QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF WHITE BRINED CHEESE PRODUCED FROM GOAT MILK WITH DIFFERENT SOMATIC CELL COUNT

This experimental work aimed to investigate the quality characteristics of white brined cheese during ripening, produced from goat milk with different somatic cell count: I group - with low somatic cell content (CL) with about 1 200 000 cells/ml; II group - with high somatic cell content (CH) with about 1 750 000 cells/ml and III group - with medium somatic cell content (CM) with about 1 600 000 cell/ml (CM). Chemical, microbiological, and sensorial evaluations were performed on the 1st and 45th day of cheese ripening. The obtained results showed that the differences in the composition of goat milk during the different stages of lactation as well as the level of somatic cell count had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the chemical composition of the cheese samples. It was established that the total lactic acid bacteria count in the experimental samples decreased from 8.2 to 7.9 log cfu/g for CL and CM and to 7.5 log cfu/g for CH at the end of the ripening period respectively. It was found that the psychrotrophic microorganisms and total yeast and molds decreased during the ripening period. The sensorial evaluation demonstrated a higher score for CL and CM samples in comparison with the CH sample.