EXTENDING THE SHELF-LIFE OF COTTAGE CHEESE USING MONOLAURIN

Shelf-life problems due to premature spoilage of cottage cheese result in approximately 5% return of product to the manufacturer each year. While preservatives are not permitted in Canada, it may be possible to use naturally occurring compounds to extend the storage life of cottage cheese. The monoglyceride monolaurin has been shown to possess anti-microbial properties as well as being an emulsifying agent. Incorporation of monolaurin into naturally contaminated cottage cheese at levels of 250 and 500 ppm resulted in >90% inhibition of both Pseudomonas spp. and coliforms during 7 days of storage at 6, 15, and 21-degrees-C. There was also >90% inhibition of growth of yeasts and moulds under the same storage conditions in the presence of monolaurin. These results suggest that the use of monolaurin as an emulsifying agent in cottage cheese will have beneficial effects by extending microbial shelf-life by approximately 35% at 6-degrees-C. Monolaurin also increased the shelf-life of cottage cheese (approximately 5-10 days) when assessed by organoleptic analysis.