Effect of carboxymethyl cellulose and sodium alginate-based edible coating containing wild garlic (Allium ursinum L.) extract on the shelf-life of lactic cheese

Nowadays, coating by natural materials is one of the novel food preservation methods with extensive applications. Cheese is a popular food, however, its high daily intake due to its high salt content may threaten the health of consumers. In this study, instead of stored in brine, the novel method for cheese coating was used with the combination of 2% sodium alginate and 3% carboxymethyl cellulose with wild garlic extract at three concentrations of 0.5, 1 and 1.5%. Two uncoated cheese specimens (stored in or out of brine) were considered as the control groups. Physicochemical (pH, acidity and weight loss), microbial (thermophile, psychrophile, mold and yeast count), and sensory properties of the samples were investigated for 21 days at 4 °C. The results showed that during storage, pH decreased significantly (p< 0.05) while acidity, weight loss and microbial load increased. Coating with various ratios affected all of the sensory properties of the cheese samples. So that the highest score of total acceptance was related to the coating with 1.5% wild garlic extract. According to the results, edible coating based on sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose, containing the wild garlic extract, can be used to increase the shelf life of cheese.