In the production of cheese, milk can be used after milking without any treatment (raw milk), or after a heating process (pasteurized milk). These two ways of making cheese have given and continue to give many discussions.
Milk is a nutrient-dense food that contains high-quality protein, lipids, essential vitamins and minerals. However, it can carry bacteria that are dangerous to health. Milk constitutes an ideal culture medium for many microorganisms as a result of its high water content, richness in nutrients and pH close to neutrality, although it also has other substances that prevent their growth such as lysozyme, lactoferrin and immunoglobulins.
Raw milk is “milk produced by the secretion of the mammary gland of animals that has not been heated to a temperature higher than 40 °C, nor subjected to an equivalent treatment.” Pasteurization is a process used to kill bacteria. In 1864, Louis Pasteur discovered that gradually heating wine and rapidly cooling it prevented vinegaring; this process is known as pasteurization. Milk pasteurization began in 1873, when pediatrician Abraham Jacobi advocated boiling milk in baby bottles. In 1886, the chemist Franz von Soxhlet devised an apparatus for the sterilization of milk. The vast majority of pathogenic microorganisms present in milk are inactivated during pasteurization.
Those who maintain that it is better to use raw milk to make cheese point out that it offers sufficient guarantees, if used properly, that the olfactory and taste nuances of the cheese are superior to those of treated milk. On the other hand, the defenders of the use of pasteurized milk argue that it is the only safe way to consume the cheese, to achieve homogeneous and reproducible characteristics, and that raw milk does not have any extra contribution of nutrients.
Regarding health risks, pasteurized milk cheeses are usually very low, although not zero. However, the current health controls for raw milk cheeses and the maturation period offer a very high guarantee of hygiene. In 1949 the FDA established a 60-day withdrawal period for cheese made from raw milk. During the cheese ripening process, there is a drop in pH, a decrease in water activity and an increase in competition with the lactic microbiota, which reduces the microbial load. The 60-day period offers adequate, though not absolute, protection against potential pathogenic organisms in raw milk cheeses.
Absolute safety does not exist in any food, therefore, neither in raw nor pasteurized milk cheeses, in both cases sanitary safety depends fundamentally on the microbiological quality of the starting milk and the level of hygiene in the facilities. In developed countries there have been great advances in animal health, milking hygiene and cheese processing. Strict surveillance of livestock diseases is carried out and there are regulations that ensure the quality and safety of dairy products. We have excellent cheeses, both pasteurized and raw milk, that “tourophiles” can enjoy without worrying.
Miguel Pocoví (14/11/2022)
Works by Jorge Laborda.
Your defenses against coronavirus
Your defenses against coronavirus
Deflamed immunology: An introduction to the immune system and its pathologies
Deflamed immunology: An introduction to the immune system and its pathologies
Deflamed immunology: An introduction to the immune system and its pathologies
Kilo of Science Volume XII eBook
Kilo of Science Volume XII Paper
Kilo of Science Volume I. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume II. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume III. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume IV. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume V. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume VI. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume VII. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume VIII. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume IX. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume X. Jorge Laborda
Kilo of Science Volume XI. Jorge Laborda
Matrix of homeopathy
Chained circumstances. Ed.Lulu
Chained circumstances. Amazon
One moon, one civilization. Why the Moon tells us that we are alone in the Universe
One moon, one civilization. Why the Moon tells us that we are alone in the Universe
One Moon one civilization why the Moon tells us we are alone in the universe
The thousand and one bases of ADN and other science stories
Adenius Fidelius
The intelligence funnel and other essays
The gods have been cloned