Exogenous enzymes in dairy technology: acidic proteases from processing discards of shrimp Pleoticus muelleri and their use as milk-clotting enzymes for cheese manufacture

PEREIRA, NAIR DE LOS ANGELES; FERNÁNDEZ GIMENEZ, ANALIA VERÓNICA

International Journal of Food Science & Technology

Wiley Online Library

Año: 2017 vol. 52 p. 341 - 357

1365-2621

Argentina is the seventh largest world producer of cheese. Owing to the profitability of this industry,more than a thousand of dairy companies and farms exclusively produce cheeses, and, thus, this activityutilises 42% of total raw milk production of the country. Due to the increase in cheese demand, andbecause calf rennet is relatively expensive, this has motivated the study of new sources of proteases due tothe potential use in biotechnological processes. Previously, crustacean proteases have been considered asgood rennet substitutes for milk coagulation during the cheese making process. The aim of this study wasto evaluate and characterise acidic proteases obtained from Pleoticus muelleri discards and their proteolyticcapability as well as their potential use as a milk-clotting agent. The activity of aspartic proteasesand the satisfactory acceptation by the taste panel for cheese made with shrimp?s enzymes suggest thatP. muelleri proteins offer a high potential for use in dairy biotechnological processes with potential use asmilk-clotting agents for cheese making.