Packaging

The packaging of cheese is particularly important for the shelf life of the product.The basic requirements for the cheese packaging are (i) exclusion of oxygen to prevent mould growth and rancidity , and (ii) retention of moisture to preserve the texture and avoid weight losses.

In general, the higher the moisture content of the cheese, the more likely it is to spoil on storage. Since Mozzarella cheese contains high moisture (about 50%) it is very susceptible to spoilage from yeasts and moulds and is usually packed with vacuum in polyethylene.

It has been reported that the spoilage of Mozzarella is mainly caused by the mould growth because of high initial count and absence of natural inhibitors such as propionic acid. Vacuum packaging helped to reduce the increase of mould in packaged cheese but with sliced Mozzarella a high vacuum of 29 inches must be maintained for effective control.

Irregular shaped Mozzarella cheese is generally packaged in flexible roll films, thermoformable packets or shrinkable pouches like cryovac. Mozzarella loaves are wrapped with multiplayer heat shrink bags of vinyledene chloride such as cryovac S type. The bags are evacuated and heat shrunk to give a desirable tightness.

After brining the cheese should be dried briefly and wrapped in parchment, saran or vacuum packed in cryovac, polyethylene or cellophane pouches followed by storage at refrigeration temperature.