AN ATTEMPT FOR PRODUCING LOW-SODIUM FETA-TYPE CHEESE

A study has been undertaken to produce ultrafiltrated Feta-type cheese with a low sodium content. This study includes two trials. In the first trial, Feta-type cheese was manufactured from ultrafiltrate retentate and salted with sodium chloride at levels of 1, 2 or 4% (control). The resultant cheeses were stored at 7 +/- 1 degrees C for 30 days. Results showed that cheese of good quality containing 7.4 mg Na/g cheese could be made with 2% sodium chloride. Lowering sodium chloride concentrations did not greatly affect the gross chemical composition but significantly increased the contents of acidity, water-soluble N and bacterial counts during storage. There was no significant difference in the concentrations of total volatile fatty acids between the different treatments. In the second trial, Feta-type cheeses were salted at a rate of 2% with various mixtures of sodium chloride + potassium chloride. The results indicated that substitution of sodium chloride by potassium chloride did not significantly influence the moisture, fat, total N, pH and proteolysis but significantly decreased the acidity of cheese throughout the storage at 7 +/- 1 degrees C. Cheese containing potassium chloride showed significantly higher total volatile fatty acids, bacterial counts, moulds and yeasts during storage. Acceptable quality Feta-type cheese could be successfully manufactured using 2% of a mixture of sodium chloride:potassium chloride (1:1) which gave 4.1 mg Na/g cheese.