Survival of Listeria monocytogenes introduced as a post-aging contaminant during storage of low-salt Cheddar cheese at 4, 10, and 21°C.

Traditional aged Cheddar cheese does not support Listeria monocytogenes growth and, in fact, gradual inactivation of the organism occurs during storage due to intrinsic characteristics of Cheddar cheese, such as presence of starter cultures, salt content, and acidity. However, consuming high-salt (sodium) levels is a health concern and the dairy industry is responding by creating reduced-salt cheeses. The microbiological stability of low-salt cheese has not been well documented. This study examined the survival of L. monocytogenes in low-salt compared with regular-salt Cheddar cheese at 2 pH levels stored at 4, 10, and 21°C. Cheddar cheeses were formulated at 0.7% and 1.8% NaCl (wt/wt) with both low and high pH and aged for 10 wk, resulting in 4 treatments: 0.7% NaCl and pH 5.1 (low salt and low pH); 0.7% NaCl and pH 5.5 (low salt and high pH); 1.8% NaCl and pH 5.8 (standard salt and high pH); and 1.8% NaCl and pH 5.3 (standard salt and low pH). Each treatment was comminuted and inoculated with a 5-strain cocktail of L. monocytogenes at a target level of 3.5 log cfu/g, then divided and incubated at 4, 10, and 21°C. Survival or growth of L. monocytogenes was monitored for up to 90, 90, and 30 d, respectively. Listeria monocytogenes decreased by 0.14 to 1.48 log cfu/g in all treatments. At the end of incubation at a given temperature, no significant difference existed in L. monocytogenes survival between the low and standard salt treatments at either low or high pH. Listeria monocytogenes counts decreased gradually regardless of a continuous increase in pH (end pH of 5.3 to 6.9) of low-salt treatments at all study temperatures. This study demonstrated that post-aging inoculation of L. monocytogenes into low-salt (0.7%, wt/wt) Cheddar cheeses at an initial pH of 5.1 to 5.5 does not support growth at 4, 10, and 21°C up to 90, 90, and 30 d, respectively. As none of the treatments demonstrated more than a 1.5 log reduction in L. monocytogenes counts, the need for good sanitation practices to prevent post-manufacturing cross contamination remains.