Lysozyme side effects in Grana Padano PDO cheese: new perspective after 30 years using

Since thirty years, hen’s egg white lysozyme is in use as an anti-clostridial agent in Grana Padano PDO cheese manufacturing in order to avoid the cheese blowing defect. However, as the EU legislation includes egg among allergens, Grana Padano falls into the category of food products containing allergens. In view of discontinuing this situation, this work aimed to investigate the effects of abandoning lysozyme use on cheese characteristics. Nine manufacturing processes, conducted with and without lysozyme, were monitored from milk to ripened cheese at four different dairies. Both the lactic acid bacteria microbiota (LAB) and chemical parameters related to cheese maturation were evaluated. The presence of the enzyme seems to affect the capacity of some LAB species and biotypes to grow in cheese during ripening. Accordingly, primary proteolysis was not affected, whereas differences were found in amino acids release that could be traced back to the lysozyme-dependent LAB growth.