| Summary: | Domiati cheese is the most popular type of white soft cheese in Egypt. <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> is a common microorganism that can easily contaminate Domiati cheese during processing and distribution. Enterotoxigenic <i>S. aureus</i> strains produce staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE) that have been involved in food poisoning outbreaks worldwide. The aim of the present study was to examine the inhibitory effect of yoghourt starter culture and nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) on the development of the enterotoxigenic <i>S. aureus</i> together with the enterotoxin production during the manufacturing and storage of Domiati cheese. Fresh cow’s milk was inoculated with <i>S. aureus</i> in a count of six log CFU/mL with the addition of either yoghourt starter culture or NiO Nps. The cytotoxicity of NiO NPs on normal human epithelial cells (HEC) was assessed using the MTT assay. In the current study, the inoculated milk was used for making Domiati cheese and the survival Weibull and log-linear models were fitted to the observed data. The obtained results showed that the mean log count of <i>S. aureus</i> decreased one week earlier by using yoghourt starter culture. Staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA) was identified only in the control cheese. Notably, Domiati cheese contained MIC of NiO NPs (35 µg/mL), which resulted in a significant decrease in <i>S. aureus</i> counts since at day 21 of cheese ripening it was not detected (<10 CFU/g). Overall, the current study indicated that the addition of yoghourt starter culture and NiO NPs during the processing of Domiati cheese could be useful candidates against <i>S. aureus</i> and enterotoxin production in the dairy industry.
|
|---|