SHELF-LIFE OF PASTEURIZED PROCESS CHEESE SPREADS MADE FROM CHEDDAR CHEESE MANUFACTURED WITH A NISIN-PRODUCING STARTER CULTURE

Cheddar cheese made with a nisin-producing starter culture and Cheddar cheese made with a commercially available starter culture were used t o manufacture pasteurized process cheese spreads at low and high moist ure percentages (53 and 60%, respectively). Composition did not differ between spreads of similar moisture content with and without nisin. T he nisin contents of cheese spreads were 301 and 387 IU/g at the high and low moisture percentages, respectively. Nisin was not inactivated by the thermal process used during cheese spread manufacture. Shelf-li fe of pasteurized process cheese spreads was determined during storage at 22 and 37-degrees-C. Low moisture cheese spreads with nisin had a longer shelf-life than corresponding cheese spreads without nisin when cheeses were incubated at either temperature. High moisture cheese sp reads with nisin had a longer shelf-life than control spreads when che eses were incubated at 22-degrees-C. However, shelf-life did not diffe r between high moisture spread with nisin and cheese spreads without n isin when cheeses were incubated at 37-degrees-C.