Lactic Acid Bacteria as Markers for the Authentication of Swiss Cheeses

Lüdin, Petra; Von Ah, Ueli; Rollier, Deborah; Roetschi, Alexandra; Eugster, Elisabeth (2016). Lactic Acid Bacteria as Markers for the Authentication of Swiss Cheeses CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry, 70(5), pp. 349-353. Schweizerische Chemische Gesellschaft 10.2533/chimia.2016.349

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The manufacture of traditional Swiss-type cheeses adheres to strict rules, so as to guarantee quality and purity of the end product. This raises production costs and means consumers pay more. It also opens the door to cut-rate forgeries claiming to be made to the stringent standards and causing considerable economic losses to the entire dairy sector. In order to combat product counterfeiting, Agroscope has developed proof-of-origin cultures that allow the identification of copycats. Carefully selected lactic acid bacteria, having uniquely located insertion sequence elements, are proliferated by fermentation and subsequently dried by lyophilization. The proof-of-origin culture is added during the cheese production process and sustains maturation. These so-called 'biological markers' can be traced using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods, which allow authentication even if the cheese is cut into pieces or grated. They do not lead to any alteration of the cheese's taste or texture, and are compatible with the strict 'protected designation of origin' (PDO) specifications. The proof-of-origin cultures are used for the protection of several traditional Swiss-cheese varieties, such as Emmental PDO, Tête de Moine PDO, and Appenzeller®. A market survey of Emmental PDO showed that the system is effective in revealing fraud and has the power to enforce corrective measures.

Item Type:	Journal Article (Original Article)
Division/Institute:	School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Consumer-focused Food Production School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Resource-efficient agricultural production systems School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences HAFL > Agriculture
Name:	Lüdin, Petra; Von Ah, Ueli; Rollier, Deborah; Roetschi, Alexandra and Eugster, Elisabeth0000-0002-9183-5462
Subjects:	Q Science > QD Chemistry S Agriculture > SF Animal culture T Technology > T Technology (General)
ISSN:	0009-4293
Publisher:	Schweizerische Chemische Gesellschaft
Language:	English
Submitter:	Simon Lutz
Date Deposited:	07 Apr 2020 13:01
Last Modified:	02 Jun 2023 11:11
Publisher DOI:	10.2533/chimia.2016.349
Related URLs:	Publication
Uncontrolled Keywords:	AUTHENTICATION; CHEESE; LACTIC ACID BACTERIA; PROOF-OF-ORIGIN
ARBOR DOI:	10.24451/arbor.10008
URI:	https://arbor.bfh.ch/id/eprint/10008