Diversity of Clostridium spp. causing late blowing in Kaşar cheese and their behaviour against various antimicrobials

Abstract

One of the problems encountered during storage of Kaşar cheese is blowing. The diversity of Clostridium spp. having a role in blowing was screened and the sensitivity of Clostridium spp. strains against nisin, NaCl, CuSO4, and EDTA was determined and compared. According to 16S rDNA sequence similarity, 12 Clostridium spp. isolates were Clostridium sporogenes while 3 were Clostridium jeddahense. Gas formation by Clostridium spp. spores can be significantly inhibited by reducing the pH below 5.5 and adding 400 IU mL?1 nisin when the number of spores are below 300 spore mL?1. It was determined that the late-blowing problem in Kaşar cheese is caused by C. sporogenes and C. jeddahense strains, but the success of preventive agents is closely related to the amount of spores. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd