Application of ultrasound for quality control of Torta del Casar cheese ripening.

This work aimed to establish the ultrasound parameters that can be useful to classify the defects in the soft cheese Torta del Casar during ripening. During ripening by ultrasound, 1 standard and 3 defective cheese batches (anomalous microbial population, inadequate pressing curd, and excessive pressing curd) were evaluated. Ultrasound parameters related to velocity, attenuation, and frequency were calculated and correlated with the physicochemical and rheological properties of the cheeses. Ultrasound data were considered variables in linear discriminant analysis to attempt cheese classification at different periods of the ripening process. Defective soft cheeses could be discriminated from standard ones with good accuracy, mainly at the final stages of ripening. The differentiation of cheese samples from 2 of the defective cheese batches (anomalous microbial population and inadequate pressing curd) from the standard was mainly attributed to different values of the attenuation-related parameters, whereas for samples from the other defective batch (excessive pressing curd), some parameters related to velocity and frequency were responsible for such discrimination.