Effectiveness of edible coating based on chitosan and Natamycin on biological, physico-chemical and organoleptic attributes of Iranian ultra-filtrated cheese

Edible coatings can be applied on the surface of fruits and food pieces to improve their nutritional and sensory qualities. Present study focuses on the effects of applied edible coating formulation containing 1.6% W/V chitosan and 18.5 ppm Natamycin, on the surface of Iranian Ultra-filtrated (UF) cheese and evaluates biological, physico-chemical and organoleptic attributes of the coated cheeses as compared to those of the control samples, during 6 weeks of storage at temperature of 4 +/- 2 degrees C. Coated and control samples were analyzed for bacterial total count, molds and yeasts population, coliform count and starter populations, as biological characteristics. pH, acidity, firmness, and salt, moisture, dry mater, fat and fat in dry mater contents were evaluated for both samples, as their physico-chemical properties. Appearance, odor and flavor, taste, texture and overall acceptability were evaluated for both coated and control cheese samples at weeks 3 and 6 of storage, as their sensorial attributes. Sensorial analysis indicated that, however there were insignificant differences between the values of sensory parameters for both samples at week 6, but, provided coating could significantly maintained sensory attributes of the coated cheese as compared to those of the control samples, at week 6 of storage.