Enterococci in Farm-Manufactured Pecorino and Goat Cheese

Enterococci are enteric organisms which are commonly isolated from ewe and goat's milk production in Umbria, Italy. For years enterococci have been considered as microorganisms only indicative of inadequate hygienic practices or exposure of the food to conditions that would permit multiplication of other undesirable bacteria. However, enterococci largely occur in many cheeses, and are now considered to be usual components of their typical microflora. They play a major role in cheese ripening due to lipolytic, proteolytic and caseinolytic activities. Enterococci have been also shown to be involved in food poisoning outbreaks although only E. faecalis has been demonstrated to cause changes in dairy products, thus being the only species of concern in dairy production. The aim of this study was to was to investigate the evolution of enterococci during the production and ripening of Pecorino cheese made with two different cheesemaking processes and characterize Enterococcus spp. isolates all along the cheesemaking and ripening process.