Procedures of reduction of BAs in cheese

In recent years, the demand of consumers for food safety as well as healthier products has promoted the investigation for food with harmful compounds. Among these toxic compounds, the presence of biogenic amines (BAs) in fermented foods, such as cheese have received considerable interest due to their undesirable physiological effects in humans. After fish, cheese is the next most commonly implicated food associated with histamine poisoning. The aim of this study was to present procedures for reduction of biogenic amines in cheese. Control measures for delying biogenic amines formation in cheese include improvement the raw milk quality, employment of quick detection methods of bacterial contamination, pasteurization of raw milk, high hydrostatic pressure, use of bacteriocins or bacteriocin producing starters, not passaged starters, amine negative starters, additives, control the ripening conditions, irradiation, appropriate packaging, and biogenic amines oxidizing MOs or enzymes. These methods delay biogenic amines formation in cheese primarily through the inhibition of bacteria or the decarboxylase enzyme activity responsible for amine production. The use of amine oxidizing bacteria and enzymes are the best options to eliminate already formed biogenic amines. Effective control of biogenic amines may require a combination of several factors that often described as hurdle technology. The control of biogenic amines with starters is likely to be most effective with good quality raw material.