Study of the effect of selenium and zinc fortification on the physicochemical and sensoryproperties of Iraqi soft cheese

Food industries, including the dairy industry, have developed to improve the health condition as they are thefoods that provide the body with important nutritional components such as minerals, whose levels decreaseafter industrialization processes. This study was conducted to determine the effect of fortification with someminerals such as zinc and selenium on the peroxide value , The physicochemical, rheological, and sensoryproperties of Iraqi soft cheese. Zinc and selenium elements were added at a concentration of 200 μg/L to milkfor cheese making. An increase in peroxide value with increasing storage time and a decrease in fat oxidationfor zinc and selenium were observed for treatments compared to the control treatment T1 and T2. This is dueto the presence of selenium and zinc, which reduce fat oxidation, and lower pH values after storage. No effectof selenium and zinc fortification was observed on the acidity values calculated based on the lactic acid of thecheese, and the chemical composition values varied as selenium fortification did not affect the percentage offat and protein. Microbial tests also showed an increase in the number of bacteria after storage for 10 dayscompared to the samples after manufacturing, with an increase in the total number of bacterial counts afterfortification. The hardness and consistency of the cheese increased when stored and after adding mineralscompared to the control samples. Cheese flexibility decreased after storage and fortification. The sensoryindicators were almost similar for control and fortified samples.

Study of the effect of selenium and zinc fortification on the physicochemical and sensoryproperties of Iraqi soft cheese Keywords:

Peroxide number , rheological properties , microbial counts , functional foods