Biodiversity in natural fungal community isolated from cheese aged in Apulian cave

Filamentous fungi contribute to the organoleptic characteristics, texture and color of longripened cheese, with their metabolism, acting as secondary starters. Traditionally worldwide cheesemakers gathered empirically that cheese production is affected by environment, technological procedures, and especially by microorganisms. Cheesemakers have naturally selected through time strains able to ensure the correct seasoning of cheeses, from which later some strains became commercial cultures, intentionally inoculated for driven-maturations of cheese. Currently, there is a reversal trend compared the past that appreciates traditional protocols for food manufacturing in light of an increased awareness of the importance of food safety. Therefore, the interest in typical local foods and traditional protocols have led to branch out the way of aging, exploiting sustainable ripening in natural environments like caves, similarly to the past. In these natural environments, cheeses come into contact with non-dairy microorganisms, potentially able to affect positively or negatively cheese aging. The mycobiota of caciocavallo cheese, aged in cave of an Apulian dairy factory, was analyzed to select pro-technological molds compatible with cheese aging, according to quality and safety parameters. Fungal community was isolated, taxonomically identified by DNA-based analysis and characterized for their relevant technological properties. Two strains belonging to non-toxigenic species, Penicillium flavigenum and P. biforme, were selected as secondary starters for caciocavallo pilot aging in cave. Main results related to their isolation, characterization, inoculation of cheese and the preliminary sensory analysis are here reported