THE IMPACT OF APPLICATION OF SOME NATURAL HYDROCOLLOIDS AS FAT REPLACERS IN REDUCED-FAT UF-FETA CHEESE PRODUCTION

Abstract

The current research aimed to comprehensively evaluate the effects of using some types of hydrocolloids, namely xanthan gum (XG), locust bean gum (LBG), and basil seed gum (BSG), each at a concentration of 0.3%, either individually or in combination, as fat replacers, on physicochemical, rheological, sensory, and microbiological properties of low- fat UF-Feta cheese (LFC) during 60 days of cold storage 5±2°C. The results indicated The results showed that there was a significant (P≤0.05) decrease in the content of dry matter, fat/dry matter, and titratable acidity values in all LFC treatments compared with the full-fat cheese (FFC). Meanwhile, LFC treatments containing gums, either individually or in combination, exhibited a lower dry matter content than the LFC (control). In contrast, the LFC treatments showed a significant (P≤0.05) increase in pH values, as well as higher contents of protein, salt, ash, and carbohydrates (on basis of dry matter) compared with the FFC. During storage, a gradual increase in acidity and dry matter components due to moisture loss, while a significant decrease in pH values was observed in all FFC and LFC samples. The addition of gums improved the textural properties of LFC, as evidenced by a significant reduction in hardness and cohesiveness values compared with the LFC (control). This imparted the cheese with textural characteristics comparable to those of FFC. The use of hydrocolloids in binary or ternary mixtures resulted in a better balance between hardness and cohesiveness, reflecting a synergistic interaction among the different types of gums. The LFC samples treated with gums received significantly higher scores for sensory attributes including appearance, flavor, texture, and overall acceptability compared to the LFC (control), and were closer in their sensory profile to the FFC. This was particularly evident in samples containing BSG and LBG, whether used individually or in combination. A gradual decline in sensory scores for all treatments during storage. Microbiological analyses showed that all feta cheese samples maintained acceptable microbiological quality, and the use of gums had no noted effect in this regard. During storage period, yeasts, molds, and coliform bacteria were not detected, while a gradual reduction in sporeforming bacteria counts was observed. Overall, the study demonstrated that natural gums (XG, LBG and BSG) contributed to the improvement of cheese characteristics, making them effective fat replacers in the production of low-fat UF-Feta cheese.