Date of Award

4-2018

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Food Science

First Advisor

Afaf Kamal-Eldin

Second Advisor

Salman Ashraf

Third Advisor

Nejib Guizani

Abstract

In this work, ten Emirati Chami cheese samples were collected and analyzed to determine their chemical composition, texture, rheology, and microbiological properties. Chami cheeses showed large variations in moisture (60.9–84.1%), protein (7.5–14.6%), fat (0.5–7.8%), and ash (3.4–8.0%) contents as well as in pH (3.6–4.4), and water activity (0.977–0.999%). The variation in fat content of samples suggested that extra fat was added; this added fat was either butter or vegetable oil as indicated by the fatty acid composition. The different samples showed peaks of variable size for fat melting. The sodium content in the 10 cheese samples varied from 223–2410 mg/kg, with three samples showing very high contents of 1756, 2024, and 2410 mg/kg, indicating added salt. The sample with the lowest moisture content (60.9%) had the hardest texture among the cheeses. Rheological examination showed that Chami cheese samples were more elastic than they were viscous. Seven Chami samples contained lactic acid bacteria (6.5–9.1 log CFU/mL), while 5 samples showed yeast and mold growth (5.3–8 log CFU/mL). Six Chami samples showed the presence of Staphylococcus spp., while coliform bacteria were detected in 4 samples. All samples tested positive for Salmonella and 4 were positive for Listeria

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