Application of high pressure treatment for cheese production

High hydrostatic-pressure treatment offers the food industry a new technolo gy for food preservation. Interest in high pressure application on milk has recently increased. Pressures between 300 and 600 MPa can inactivate micro organisms including most infectious food-borne pathogens. In addition to mi crobial destruction, it has been reported that high pressure improves renne t or acid coagulation of milk and increases cheese yield. A tot of work has been published on microorganism inactivation, denaturation of whey protein s, changes in the mineral distribution and coagulating properties on model or real milk systems. However, practical applications of high pressure trea tment in the dairy industry have received little attention. This paper exam ines recent work in this area and summarizes parts of our ongoing work towa rd the development of high pressure applications for the cheese industry. ( C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.