Selection of autochthonous strains as promising starter cultures for Fior di Latte, a traditional cheese of southern Italy.
BACKGROUND
This paper describes the selection of promising strains intended as starter cultures from the autochthonous lactic acid bacteria of Fior di Latte cheese (Apulia region, southern Italy).


RESULTS
Ninety-five isolates were randomly selected from whey and Fior di Latte. After preliminary characterization based upon Gram staining, deamination of arginine, hydrolysis of esculine and production of CO2 from glucose and citrate, the isolates were studied for their growth at different temperatures (10, 15 and 45 °C), with salt addition (20, 40 and 65 g L(-1) ) and at pH 4.4 and their acidification score in MRS broth after 6 and 24 h. Data were modeled through the growth index and used as input to run a preliminary cluster analysis and a principal component analysis. In this way, nine promising strains were selected and used for validation at laboratory level, to study the acidification score in milk and propose some possible microbial mixtures.


CONCLUSIONS
This paper reports the first research focusing on the design of a lactic starter for the production of Fior di Latte cheese, using a quantitative approach based on the evaluation of growth index and acidification score as well as on the use of a multivariate approach to select the most promising nine strains.
Department of the Science of Agriculture, Food and Environment (SAFE), University of Foggia, Via Napoli 25, I-71122, Foggia, Italy.
Barbara
B
Speranza
Antonio
A
Bevilacqua
Maria Rosaria
MR
Corbo
Clelia
C
Altieri
Milena
M
Sinigaglia
D000818:Animals; D002611:Cheese / Q000382:microbiology*; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D007558:Italy; D019344:Lactic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D017045:Lactococcus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008892:Milk / Q000382:microbiology
D019344:Lactic Acid
Fior di Latte; growth index; quantitative approach; starter selection