Survival of probiotic Lactobacillus casei and Enterococcus fecium in Domiati cheese of high conjugated linoleic acid content

Domiati cheese was made from reconstituted milk (20% total solids) containing normal (C) and high level (T) of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content respectively using mixed probiotic Lactobacillus casei and Enterococcus fecium (1:1) as starter. The cheeses were stored in brine at 25±5°C for 60 d storage. The added probiotics grow equally well in C and T cheeses. The total viable and Lb casie counts increased to a maximum after 15 d of storage and then decreased while the counts of Enterococcus fecium and total lactic acid continued to increase until the end of the storage period. The cheeses retained high counts of these probiotics ( l07 cfu g-1) throughout the storage period. The acidity, soluble nitrogen, free amino acid, and conjugated dienes increased significantly in Domiati cheese during storage with small differences between treatments except for the significantly higher conjugated dienes in T than C treatment.