Microbiological characteristics of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese during the cheesemaking and the first months of the ripening

The aim of this work was to gain a comprehensive view of the microbiological characteristics of milk, natural whey starter, and cheese during the first months of ageing of Parmigiano Reggiano. A significant presence of different microbial groups in raw milk from the initial moments of production was rapidly substituted by various lactic acid bacteria. Natural whey starter contained a large number of thermophilic lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus helveticus, L. delbrueckii ssp. lactis, L. delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus) and some facultatively heterofermentative lactic acid bacteria belonging to L. rhamnosus. Thermophilic lactic acid bacteria disappeared within 30 d. Rod-shaped mesophilic facultatively heterofermentative lactic acid microflora, consisting of L. casei, L. paracasei ssp. paracasei, L. paracasei ssp. tolerans, L. rhamnosus and pediococci, progressively increased up to the fifth month of ageing. Results showed that thermophilic lactobacilli were derived from natural whey starter whereas Streptococcus thermophilus originated from raw milk. Further, natural whey starter was the source of L. rhamnosus which was present throughout the entire period of the cheese ageing. The other components of non-starter lactic acid microflora derived from raw milk.