Iron Fortification of Process Cheddar Cheese

¹ Department of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Utah State University, Logan 84322-8700

Dairy products contribute high quality protein, calcium, and other nutrients but no Fe to human diets. In this study, we determined whether Fe fortification affected the quality of process Cheddar cheese fortified with Fe-casein, Fe-whey protein, or FeCl₃. An unfortified process cheese served as a control. Iron concentrations in the fortified cheeses were about 40 mg/kg, an Fe density of 10 mg/ 1000 kcal; and unfortified cheese contained 1 to 2 mg iron/kg. The quality of the process cheese was determined by thiobarbituric acid assay and taste panel evaluation. Thiobarbituric acid numbers were slightly lower in the unfortified cheese (P = .049). A taste panel of experts did not detect any differences in oxidized off-flavor or cheese flavor among the cheeses that have been stored as long as 3 mo (P>.05). A panel of 94 lay subjects gave similar hedonic scores to the flavor, texture, and overall quality of the Fe-fortified and unfortified cheeses (P>.05). Results indicate that it is possible to produce good quality, Fe-fortified process Cheddar cheese.

Key Words: iron fortification • iron-milk protein complexes • process Cheddar cheese

Submitted on July 2, 1990
Accepted on September 7, 1990