The effect of natural and liquid smokes on the benzo[a]pyrene content and quality parameters of Circassian cheese

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of natural smoke and liquid smoke application methods on quality characteristics of smoked Circassian cheese. The microbial counts of liquid smoked cheeses were found to be higher than naturally smoked cheeses. It can be concluded that although natural smoke inhibited the growth of micro-organisms more than liquid smoke application, benzo[a]pyrene, an indicator component for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), was detected on the outer surface of naturally smoked cheeses. Therefore, liquid smoking could be used as an alternative method for smoked Circassian cheese production.