EVOLUTION OF THE SURFACE FUNGAL FLORA OF REBLOCHON CHEESE

The Reblochon of Savoie is a pressed uncooked French cheese with a was hed rind. The cheeses are made with unpasteurized bovine milk. This wo rk is a qualitative and quantitative study of the fungal population on the surface of ripening farm and dairy cheeses. Geotrichum candidum w as the only mold of the Reblochon; it developed essentially on the sur face from day + 1 to day + 8. Thirteen main predominant yeasts have be en identified with the computer program of Barnett et al (1990b). Cand ida famata emerged as the most prevalent yeast of the Reblochon rind. It was dominant on the surface of all the farm and dairy cheeses teste d. Candida vini has been isolated only from farm cheeses. On the contr ary, Candida zeylanoides characterized the dairy cheese. On the cheese surface, the number of yeasts increased rapidly and essentially from day + 1 to day + 8. A similar increase was seen for G candidum. From d ay + 8 to day + 36 the fungal population of the rind stabilized.