Methods Used to Study Non-Starter Microorganisms in Cheese: A Review
Abstract
The significance of non‐starter lactic acid bacteria (NSLAB), which become the dominant organ‐isms in hard cheese varieties during ripening, is still controversial, but they have been shown to contribute to the release of amino acids and to influence flavour development. Since the NSLAB population is essentially uncontrolled, it is likely that at least some of the variability in cheese quality is due to the NSLAB. Several approaches used to assess the significance of NSLAB in cheese ripening are reviewed in this paper.
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Throughout cheese manufacturing, environmental parameters such as temperature, pH, osmolarity, and lactose concentration undergo significant changes.
“Throughout cheese manufacturing, environmental parameters such as temperature, pH, osmolarity, and lactose concentration undergo significant changes [41,51,53,64,69,70,73,74,75].”
From Microbiota of Cheese Ecosystems: A Perspective on Cheesemaking (2025) · cites this paper as [74]
Aids or additives added to milk can limit, delay, or stop the growth of undesired bacteria but can sometimes also alter the growth activity of LAB.
“These aids or additives limit, delay, or stop the growth of undesired bacteria but can sometimes also alter the growth activity of LAB [56,74,114].”
From Microbiota of Cheese Ecosystems: A Perspective on Cheesemaking (2025) · cites this paper as [74]
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- Authors
- SHAKEEL‐UR‐REHMAN, FOX, P. F., & McSWEENEY, P. L. H.
- Affiliations
- University College Cork (IE)
- ORCID
- McSWEENEY, PAUL L H
- Venue
- International Journal of Dairy Technology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2000-08
- Volume
- 53
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 113-119
- ISSN
- 1364-727X (ISSN-L)
- 1471-0307
- OpenAlex
- W2015430361
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 38
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2014: 1 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 2.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- International Journal of Dairy Technology (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Probiotics and Fermented Foods
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Fermentation and Sensory Analysis
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Advanced Scientific Research Methods
- Keywords
- non-starter lactic acid bacteria, cheese ripening, hard cheese, amino acid release, cheese microbiology
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