The use of AFLP to relate cheese-contaminating Penicillium strains to specific points in the production plants

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was performed on isolates of Penicillium commune and Penicillium palitans originating from cheese and indoor environment in four cheese factories. The AFLP method was found to be a useful tool for identification of P. commune and P. palitans on, as well as below, species level. However, AFLP in combination with M13 fingerprinting described in a previous paper provided better resolution at the intraspecific level than either of the methods alone. Specific P. commune and P. palitans strains were found in the same factories over a period of more than a year and showed that the cheese factories have contaminating strains that are well established. The majority of the P. commune and P. palitans strains were found only within a single factory, but several were found in different cheese factories. The combined fingerprinting data could relate strains isolated from cheese to specific points in the production plants. Several of cheese-contaminating Penicillium strains could be related to air in the wrapping room, which must be considered to be a critical point for contamination of cheese.