BIOGENIC AMINE CONTENTS OF FRESH AND MATURE KASHAR CHEESES DURING REFRIGERATED STORAGE

Özet

Kashar is one of the most consumed traditional cheeses in Turkey. It is produced as fresh or mature, which differ in ripening periods. Safe consumption period of kashar was investigated during refrigerated storage. Five samples of fresh and five samples of mature kashar cheeses collected from local supermarkets in Turkey were analyzed. Changes in biogenic amines, pH and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance of fresh and mature kashar cheeses were investigated during storage. Mature kashar cheeses had higher biogenic amine concentrations than fresh kashar cheeses. During storage, total biogenic amine contents of all samples increased significantly (p<0.05). Total biogenic amine contents of mature kashar cheeses were higher than maximum allowed limit of 1000 mg/kg and can cause toxicity. It was found that fresh kashar cheeses were safer than mature kashar cheeses with respect to the toxic limits of biogenic amines.