EFFECT OF THE TEMPERATURE OF INCUBATION ON THE GROWTH OF SEVERAL MICROCOCCI STRAINS ISOLATED FROM CHEESE

Growth curves of nine strains belonging to the Micrococcus genus isolated from several kinds of cheese made out with sheep or cow milk have been studied. In general terms, the strains behaved as mesophilic microorganisms because all strains grew better at 32-degrees-C than at 25 and 18-degrees-C. At 12-degrees-C, the generation times (g) values increased markedly exceeding the 60-100 hours. All strains may grow before and during the curd formation. However, some strains showed acceptable g values at temperatures (about 12-degrees-C) near to those at which cheeses are ripened, which means that they would be able to grow even during the first steps of ripening.