A research on Existence and Special Activities of Acinetobacter in Different Cheese

The objective of this study was to identify Acinetobacter in a traditional cheese from west Azarbaijan, Iran, and to study the lipolytic and proteolytic activities of these bacteria in ripening of white brine cheese. Acinetobacter is a gram negative bacteria which can be found in different sources as dairy products. Lypolysis and proteolysis characteristic of this bacteria and thus its role in creating special odor and taste in traditional cheeses was proved in previous researches. A different province in Azarbaijan, Iran has its own traditional cheese, namely poosti, lighvan and koozeh cheese. Koozeh cheese is a traditional cheese of west Azarbaijan which spends about 36 months underground before consuming. In this research the bacteria was extracted and identified from Koozeh cheese from west Azarbaijan and was applied in specified amount and in three different formula as starter bacteria in manufacturing white brine cheese. Biochemical and Microbiologic methods (such as catalase, oxidase, KOH test, Protease and Lipase test, measuring TN, NPN and SN, Lypolysis) were applied. Based on significance of the results obtained from the research, it was revealed that this bacteria has suitable lipolytic and proteolytic activities and it can be used with other bacteria in cheese production in industry in order to achieve fermented cheese with suitable odor, texture and taste like the traditional products.