Characterisation of yeasts isolated from artisanal Turkish dairy products

Economic and sensorial losses of dairy products due to spoilage by yeast have been increasing in Turkey because of poor hygienic conditions during processing and to shorten the anticipated shelf life of products and/also reduced use of preservatives that do not strictly control the growth of these organisms. This study reports the results of a survey of yeast species in samples of cow's, ewe's and goat's milk products collected in some regional bazaar of Izmir, Western Turkey. Yeasts were isolated from white pickled cheese, tulum cheese and kashkaval cheese, yoghurt and strained yoghurt respectively. The most frequently occurring yeast species on dairy products were Candida sp., Saccharomyces sp., Kluyveromyces sp. and Trichosporon sp. respectively. Even though yeasts are considered as environmental contaminants, the occurrence of some of them in dairy products at high levels could represent a potential risk for human health especially for immuno compromised patients. © 2006 Academic Journals