Evaluation of two packaging systems for regional cheese

Saloio cheese – a regional Portuguese cheese – is currently sold unpackaged or in a vacuum package. Neither of these packaging systems is acceptable: the first system yields a cheese too hard, because of excessive water loss, while the second yields a white cheese with poor textural properties. The use of a packaging system with a tailor-made moisture barrier, i.e., allowing for water loss, but at a lower rate, is a way of extending the cheese’s shelf-life.The adequate water vapour permeability to preserve the cheese was previously determined as 6.8 × 10−7 g m/m2day Pa at 8 °C. The objective of this work was to develop a packaging system providing the required relative humidity inside the package. Two systems were tested: (i) the active system Humidipak® and (ii) perforated plastic films.Both packaging systems succeeded in extending the cheese’s shelf-life by significantly decreasing the water loss. Perforated films require further study on moulds growth control.