title: Characterisation of the Microflora Contaminating the Wooden Vats Used for Traditional Sicilian Cheese Production.
abstract: Traditional Sicilian cheese productions are carried out employing traditional wooden vats, calledtina. Many studies have highlighted the beneficial role of wooden dairy equipment by contributing to enriching the milk microflora and improving the acidification processes. The present work was undertaken to evaluate the safety of the wooden vats used to coagulate milk. To this purpose, the different microbial populations hosted onto the internal surfaces of the vats used to produce two different stretched cheeses, namelyCaciocavallo PalermitanoandVastedda della valle del Belìce DOP, were investigated for the presence of spoilage and pathogenic microorganisms as well as for bacteria with inhibitory effectin vitroagainst pathogenic microorganisms. A wide biodiversity of protechnological lactic acid bacteria (LAB), in terms of species, was revealed. Several LAB inhibited the growth ofListeria monocytogenesATCC 7644. The wooden vats analysed resulted safe for three main findings: absence of the main pathogenic species, presence of high levels of LAB, anti-Listeriaactivity of many LAB.
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Maria Luisa
authors: ML
authors: Scatassa
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Cinzia
authors: C
authors: Cardamone
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Viviana
authors: V
authors: Miraglia
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Fabrizio
authors: F
authors: Lazzara
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Gerlando
authors: G
authors: Fiorenza
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Giusi
authors: G
authors: Macaluso
authors: Local Health Unit 6 , Palermo.
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Arcuri
authors: Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo , Sicily.
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Settanni
authors: Institute for Experimental Veterinary Medicine of Sicily A. Mirri , Palermo.
authors: Isabella
authors: I
authors: Mancuso
keywords: Biofilm; Food safety; Inhibitory activity; Sicilian cheese; Wooden vat