Álisson Santana da Silva, Edson Renato Honjoya, Sibele Camilo Cardoso, Cínthia Hoch Batista de Souza, Marcela de Rezende Costa, Elsa Helena Walter de Santana, Lina Casale Aragón-Alegro
The effect of the addition of lactoferrin on Staphylococcus aureus to Minas frescal cheese was evaluated. Three cheeses were made: control (S. aureus), Lf-2% (2% lactoferrin + S. aureus) and Lf-4% (4% lactoferrin + S. aureus). Cheeses were packaged and S. aureus populations were determined on days 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29 of storage at 6 degrees C. The experiment was repeated three times. S. aureus population increased 1.3 logarithmic cycles in the control cheese during storage, while it decreased to numbers below the detection limit in cheeses containing lactoferrin, over the same period. Moreover, antimicrobial effect showed to be dose-dependent.