Evaluation of the ability of smear-ripened cheese microbial communities to colonize pea-protein matrix

Plant-based substitutes for dairy and meat products have been one of the key innovative drivers since the last decade due to concerns about sustainability, lifestyle, and dietary limitations. However, there are different challenges to developing these substitutes, including poor sensory properties and defects of these products. Fermentation and ripening processes may help enhance the texture, microbiological safety, nutritional value, and sensory characteristics of plant-based dairy and meat substitutes. However, assessing the growth conditions for various microbial species to produce the desired metabolites is challenging. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of smear-ripened cheese microbial communities to colonize a pea-protein matrix.In this study, 12 different cheese-rind microorganisms, including four Lactic Acid bacteria (LAB) strains belonging to three species, i.e., Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactococcus cremoris, L. lactis S3+ & S3, five cheese ripening bacterial species, i.e., Glutamicibacter arilaitensis, Brevibacterium aurantiacum, Staphyloccocus equorum, Corynebacterium casei, Hafnia alvei, and three yeast species, i.e., Geotrichum candidum, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Kluyveromyces lactis were used. A pea protein matrix composed of 10% (w/w) pea protein isolate and 2.5% (w/v) glucose was inoculated with all twelve pure cultures for one week at 25°C. The control media were BHI broth for the cheese-ripening bacteria, PDB broth for the yeast species, and MRS broth for the LAB strains. The viable count (CFU/mL) and pH were assessed on day 0 and day 7 for both conditions.The growth results showed that all smear-ripened cheese microorganisms colonized the pea protein matrix except for B. aurantiacum. Among LAB, L. plantarum, and L. cremoris showed a higher growth compared to L. lactis S3+ & S3 strains at day 7. The cheese ripening bacteria showed the ability to modify the initial pH with H. alvei and C. casei, significantly reducing pH at Day 7 compared to the control. ...