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Water Buffalo Mozzarella Cheese Stored in Polysaccharide-Based Gels: Correlation Between Prolongation of the Shelf-Life and Physicochemical Parameters

P. Laurienzo^*, M. Malinconico^*, G. Mazzarella, F. Petitto, N. Piciocchi, R. Stefanile and M.G. Volpe^,1

^* Istituto di Chimica e Tecnologia dei Polimeri, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Pozzuoli (NA), Italy
Istituto di Scienze dell’Alimentazione (ISA), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 83100 Avellino, Italy

¹ Corresponding author: mgvolpe{at}isa.cnr.it

An innovative packaging system has been developed, based on natural gels, that has shown the peculiar characteristic to strongly increase the shelf life of water buffalo Mozzarella cheese. To explain the mechanism of action of the gel, measurements of Ca and Na in the cheese and in the storage liquid were carried out, together with pH determination. A correlation has been found between the constant level of Ca and pH in the cheese and the prolongation of nutritional characteristics; in fact, both parameters diminish significantly in the absence of gel. At the same time, the weight of the cheese in gel remained constant for as long as 30 d. Confocal laser microscopy gave direct evidence of the persistent physical structure of proteins and lipids of Mozzarella when stored in gel.

Key Words: Mozzarella cheese • polysaccharide gel