The Cheese Production Facility Microbiome Exhibits Temporal and Spatial Variability.

ABSTRACT: A primary goal of modern cheese manufacturing is consistent product quality. One aspect of product quality that remains poorly understood is the variability of microbial subpopulations due to temporal or facility changes within cheese production environments. Therefore, our aim was to quantify this variability by measuring day-day and facility-facility changes in the cheese facility microbiome. In-process product (i.e., milk and cheese) and food-contact surfaces were sampled over the course of three production days at three cheese manufacturing facilities. Microbial communities were characterized using 16S rRNA metabarcoding and by plating on selective growth media. Each facility produced near-identical Cheddar cheese recipes on near-identical processing equipment during the time of sampli

SUBMITTER: Johnson J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7985343 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature