Detection of camel milk adulteration with buffalo milk during semi hard cheese production

As camel milk is a highly nutritional milk type with difficult access, emerging concern is related to its adulteration. Although researchers are publishing methods for detection of fraud, there is still a need to understand the effects of adulteration also on processed dairy products made of camel milk. The present research aims to show the classical and the new approaches for determination of camel milk adulteration with buffalo milk involving also the cheese manufacturing process and ripening. German camel milk was mixed with different ratios of Hungarian buffalo milk (0 % - 20 % - 40 % - 60 % - 80 % - 100 %). Pasteurized milk samples were analysed with ELISA-based test kit, gel electrophoresis, analytical chemistry before undergoing the same manufacturing process. Resulted cheese samples were ripened for 6 months and analysed for color, fat, protein, histamine concentration, textural properties and cheese holes development due to long ripening time. Our results show that the adulteration with buffalo milk could be detected both in milk and in cheese. Milk adulteration could be followed by appearance of β-lactoglobulin and significantly higher fat, protein and lactose concentration. Cheese adulteration impacted numerous parameters. Already the addition of 20 % buffalo milk resulted in 90 % higher cheese yield, darker and more yellowish cheese color and 74 % increase in hardness. Furthermore, sensory panellists observed a linear correlation between cheese holes and buffalo milk concentration and found significant difference to camel cheese already by addition of 40 % buffalo milk.