Abstract
A published method to determine aflatoxin M1 in fluid and concentrated milks was refined to permit assays of a wider range of dairy products. Milk products that were spiked with aflatoxin Mx were processed with commercial dairy cultures, rennet, and organic acids to make several cheeses and butter. Cheeses that were representative of various curd-precipitation methods or high cooking temperatures were included. When milk was set with lactic acid cultures and small quantities of rennet to produce short-set cottage cheese or heated with lactic acid starter to prepare ricotta cheese, about 71–74% of the aflatoxin M1 was recovered in the whey fractions. Nearly equal quantities of M1 were detected in curds and whey from long-set, acidprecipitated cottage cheese and from rennetprecipitated cheeses, such as colby, cheddar, and swiss. Results were similar with queso bianco cheese products that were produced by direct addition of organic acids. According to analysis, only 16% of the available M1 was in the butter while the remainder was in the buttermilk.
DEVELOPMENT OF A WASTE-FREE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE PRODUCTION OF COTTAGE CHEESE PRODUCTS BASED ON MELTED MILK
