Effect of E-beam sanitation of surface mould cheese on texture and sensory attributes

• Textural and colour aspects of cheeses are mainly affected by storage conditions.
• Radiation seems to attenuate cheese softening during storage.
• Colour changes produced by dose are not noticeable compared to those of air exposure.
• Effects of dose up to 3 kGy on sensory aspects become negligible during storage.

The effects of E-beam radiation at doses up to 3 kGy on mechanical and colorimetric parameters and sensory attributes of Camembert and Brie cheeses and their behaviour during storage at 4 and 14 °C were studied using response surface methodology. Immediately after treatment, no significant differences (p > 0.05) in adhesiveness, springiness and chewiness were found in either of the cheeses. However, hardness, cohesiveness, gumminess and breaking force decreased in Camembert cheese as the dose increased, while values for the Brie samples remained fairly constant. Nevertheless, no significant differences (p > 0.05) between untreated and treated samples after two weeks of storage were detected. Minor changes in the colour parameters were due to the E-beam treatment even at 3 kGy and then minimized during storage. A similar behaviour was observed in sensorial parameters. Because the dose studied was higher than that required to achieve the food safety objective according to EU and USA regulations, it was concluded that E-beam treatment is a useful method for sanitizing soft mould-ripening cheeses with negligible changes in the sensory quality and rheological properties.