Ziad Mezher¹*, Evgeniya Titarenko¹, Valeria Morena¹, Gilberto Giangolini² and Roberto Condoleo¹

¹Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, Italy
²Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, Centro di Referenza Nazionale per la Qualità del Latte e dei Prodotti Derivati degli Ovini e dei Caprini (CReLDOC), Italy

*Corresponding Author: Ziad Mezher, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana “M. Aleandri”, Italy.

Received: September 28, 2021; Published: November 11, 2021

Abstract

Farmhouse cheeses made from raw ovine or caprine milk are very popular among the consumers not only in Italy but also overseas because of their unique organoleptic properties. These cheeses are usually manufactured, according to traditional methods, in small rudimental facilities adjacent to the farm where the achievement of satisfactory hygienic standards can be challenging. However, the lack of systematic data about farm management and the cheese manufacturing processes hampers the conduction of specific risk assessment studies. In order to fill the knowledge gaps, we collected relevant data, through a questionnaire - based survey, from 125 farmhouse dairies spread in Lazio. Results showed that 1.1% of small ruminant’s registered farms process their own milk for the production of raw milk cheeses. Hand milking is still applied in almost half of them and most products are subject to a short - to - medium ripening period which might not be sufficient to reduce eventual pathogen load. Products are mainly sold directly to consumers on the farm premises. Our results suggest the need to support these artisan cheese producers in order to improve the production standards without altering however, the traditional cheesemaking practices. The reported data are useful for risk assessors as well as food technologists and might be employed in future risk assessment studies.

Keywords: Small Ruminants; Raw Milk; Farming Practices; Cheese Production

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Citation

Citation: Ziad Mezher., et al. “Husbandry and Cheese Manufacturing Practices in Small Ruminants' Farmhouse Dairies in Central Italys". Acta Scientific Veterinary Sciences 3.12 (2021): 56-65.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2021 Ziad Mezher., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.