Evaluation of lactic acid and monolaurin to control Listeria monocytogenes on stracchini cheese

The behaviour of Listeria monocytogenes was evaluated during storage of Italian Stracchino cheese dipped in lactic acid (1.4%) or surface treated with (1)-monolauroyl-(rac)-glycerol (monolaurin, 200 μg cm −2 ). The cheese was surface inoculated with approximately 5×10 2 cfu cm −2 of L. monocytogenes , and stored under vacuum at 5°C for 12 days. The lactic acid treatment resulted in lower counts ( P L. monocytogenes compared with counts on untreated cheese washed with water. When lactic-treated cheese was stored at 5°C, levels of L. monocytogenes did not change appreciably. Treating cheese with monolaurin also significantly reduced the number of L. monocytogenes . Furthermore, 12 day counts were less than the untreated control.