CHEMICAL-NUTRITIONAL COMPOSITION, MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS AND VOLATILE COMPOUND CONTENT OF FOSSA CHEESE RIPENED IN DIFFERENT PITS

Fossa cheese samples were ripened for 90 days in two different pits and analysed to evaluate the influence of the environment on the chemical and nutritional characteristics. The significant changes were recorded only for certain parameters, particularly the contents of fatty acids and volatile molecules. In the fatty acid profiles, the sum of monounsaturated fatty acids showed a significant decrease in the mature cheeses due to a strong decrease in oleic acid. Even the sum of polyunsaturated fatty acids and the ratio between the sums of saturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids decreased after ripening in both pits. HP-SPME-GC/MS analysis allowed the identification of 77 volatile compounds that increased in the cheese samples during ripening. The results of this study indicated that there are substantial differences between the chemical and chemical/physical parameters, and certain fatty acids of the just curdled cheese samples and the cheese ripened in the two pits showed different geologicalgeochemical parameters.