Impact of freezing on the physicochemical and functional properties of low-moisture part-skim mozzarella

LMPS Mozzarella has gained worldwide interest because of its use in pizza. Commercially it is made from cow’s milk through a well-defined process known as ‘Pasta Filata Processing’. Local milk quality and supply issues have however driven some countries in South-East Asia to import LMPS Mozzarella from Europe, the United States, Australia and/or New Zealand. Changes in physical properties during extended storage of LMPS Mozzarella can result in poor shred and altered melting properties; consequently, producers freeze LMPS Mozzarella to minimize changes during long-distance export. There is a need to understand the impact of freezing on LMPS Mozzarella quality. In this study, the impact of freezing on proteolysis, moisture distribution, texture profile characteristics, and stretchability of commercial LMPS Mozzarella was evaluated. The impact of key processing conditions including the ripening period before freezing, the duration of frozen storage and the freezing rate were investigated. Frozen-thawed LMPS Mozzarella exhibited characteristics similar to cold-stored Mozzarella, suggesting that freezing halted the ripening, with no noticeable changes in quality after thawing. The conclusions of this study could provide further insights in prolonging the shelf life of LPMS Mozzarella