Biocontrol of with Selected Autochthonous Lactic Acid Bacteria in Raw Milk Soft-Ripened Cheese under Different Water Activity Conditions.

The effect of selected autochthonous Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) against was evaluated in two elaborations of soft-ripened cheese performed under high and low relative humidity (RH) elaborations, to achieve a ranging from 0.97 to 0.94 in ripened cheeses. Two selected autochthonous strains of 31 and 116 were used. In each elaboration, 8 batches were physicochemically and microbiologically evaluated throughout the ripening process. The a and pH decreased during ripening to final values ranging from 0.944 to 0.972 a and 5.0 to 5.3 pH, respectively. LAB was the only microbial group that increased throughout the ripening in high and low RH elaborations. In batches that were uninoculated with LAB strains, was either maintained at the initial inoculation level or showed a slight reduction by the end of the ripening process. However, in LAB-inoculated batches in the two elaborations, steady decreases of were observed throughout maturation. 31 alone or in combination with strain 116 provoked reductions of 2 to 4 log CFU/g in over 60 days of ripening, which could be enough as a strategy for biocontrol to deal with the usual contamination by during cheese processing.