Cheese Products

Abstract

The present invention relates to a composition and a method of preparing cheese products with a suitable moisture level. The cheese products that have been formed using the composition are characterised with an improve at least one of aroma, flavour, mildness, consistency, texture, syneresis, body, mouth feel, firmness, viscosity, gel fracture, wheying off, structure and/or organoleptic properties, nutrition and/or health benefits. In particular, the present invention provides a composition comprising a starter acidification micro-organism and an EPS fermentation culture comprising a viable micro-organism an enzyme produced by said micro-organism and an exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by the activity of said enzyme.

Description

FIGURES

FIG. 1. A schematic representation of a process suitable for making cheese.

FIG. 2. A graph representing the pH characteristics of 10% Streptococcus thermophilus V3 incubated at 40° C.

FIG. 3. A graphic representation showing pH characteristics of 10% Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 incubated at 40° C.

FIG. 4. A graphic representation showing pH characteristics of acidification of the medium in the presence of 10% EPS fermentation culture containing Lactobacillus sakei 570 incubated at 37° C.

FIG. 5. A graphic representation showing pH characteristics of acidification of the medium in the presence of 10% EPS fermentation culture containing Leuconostoc mesenteroides 808 incubated at 37° C.

FIG. 6. A schematic representing showing a relative whey separation.

FIG. 7. A graph representing a syneresis study involving Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322.

FIG. 8. A graph representing syneresis using EPS fermentation culture containing Lactobacillus sakei 570.

FIG. 9. A graph providing a summary of the pH characteristics of the acidification and syneresis experiments using 10% thermised EPS fermentation culture containing Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322.

FIG. 10. A graph providing a summary of the pH characteristics of the acidification and syneresis experiments using 10% thermised EPS fermentation culture containing Lactobacillus sakei 570.

FIG. 11. A graph representing a summary of pH acidification experiments and syneresis experiments.

FIG. 12. Production chart for low fat cheese produced with Lb. Sakei

FIG. 13. Schematic diagram of cheese making procedure

FIG. 14. Results from sensory evaluation of low fat cheeses

Table 1: Variations for trials for the examination of the pH course of an EPS forming strain at different temperatures.

Table 2. Showing pH characteristics of Streptococcus thermophilus V3.

Table 3. Showing pH characteristics of Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322.

Table 4. Showing pH characteristics of Lactobacillus sakei 570.

Table 5. Showing pH characteristics of Leuconostoc mesenteroides 808.

Materials and Methods

A list of the bacteria used in the experiments.

• • Control acidification strain: Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 (K) (SC non-EPS forming, thermophilic strain)
  • EPS-producing microbial strains which form part of the EPS fermentation culture:
    • Hetero-EPS-forming strains such as Streptococcus thermophilus V3 (Sc) (thermophilic), Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 (c) (mesophilic) and other hetero-EPS forming lactic acid bacterial strains may be used as described herein.
    • Homo-EPS-forming strains such as: Lactobacillus sakei Lb 570 (Lb) (mesophilic) or Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 (Ln) (mesophilic) have been used as typical homo-EPS forming lactic acid bacterial strains although other homo-EPS forming strains may also be used as described herein.

Example 1

There is provided a schematic representation of an example of a process that may be followed in order to produce a soft cheese product (see FIG. 1). The acidification of the medium suitable for forming cheese may be acidified by starter acidification lactic acid bacteria that are well known by persons of skill in the art.

Example 2

1. Methodology for Detecting pH Courses in Milk.

The described methodology was applied for all examined strains according to FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The objective was to detect the acidification courses in milk used for cheese-making at temperatures of 34° C. and/or 37° C. and/or 40° C.

Step 1: Production of an EPS Fermentation Culture.

All fermentation media were inoculated with 1% of the activated culture, i.e. 1 ml culture/100 ml medium. The strains Sc and Lc were cultivated in VIS-START 10 supplied by Danisco Germany , Niebüll. The strains Lb and Ln were cultivated in VIS-START 10 plus 10% saccharose (w/v). The concentration was obtained by adding 20 ml of saccharose solution (50%) to 80 ml concentrated VIS-START 10. The mesophilic strains Lc, Lb and Ln were incubated at 30° C. the thermophilic strain Sc was incubated at 39° C. The fermentation time was 4 h for Sc and 48 h for Lb and Ln. Sc was cooled in iced water after fermentation and stored in the refrigerator until its use the following day for stopping culture growth. The time of fermentation may be from about 9 hours to 16 h±1 h.

Additionally, or in the alternative part of the EPS fermentation cultures were heated to 65° C. for 20 seconds after fermentation (while stirring in a water bath at 80° C.). This step is referred to as thermising or heating.

Additionally, or in the alternative part of the untreated and part of the heated (thermised) medium was neutralised to pH 6.7 using 2 M Ca(OH)₂ solution.

The fermented EPS containing media were thus available in an untreated, neutralized, heated (thermised) as well as neutralised plus heated form.

Consequently, Table 1 shows the variations for temperature and strain which were available for trials.

TABLE 1
	+reference
Trial	acidifying strain	EPS rate [%]	heated	neutralised
1/2/3		10/7.5/5
4/5/6		10/7.5/5		x
7/8/9	x	10/7.5/5
10/11/12	x	10/7.5/5		x
13/14/15	x	10/7.5/5	x
16/17/18	x	10/7.5/5	x	x
19/20/21		10/7.5/5	x
22/23/24		10/7.5/5	x	x
25	x	—

Step 2: Fermentation of Milk

As usual for cheese-making, CaCl₂ in the concentration of 10 g CaCl₂/100 l was added to the milk. The milk was heated to trial temperature and weighed in: 72 g, 74 g respectively 76 g.

Additionally, the EPS fermentation culture were weighed in 8 g (10%), 6 g (7.5%), respectively 4 g, (5%) and added to the milk, so that the total was always 80 g.

As a reference, 80 g milk which had just been inoculated with a reference acidification strain (SC without EPS formation) was used. The mixtures were shaken in a pre-heated water bath with integrated shaker at approx. 45 rev,/min. The pH was measured at the time t=0 and the measurement was repeated every 20 to 30 min. As soon as a mixture had reached pH 6.2 (pH at filling in the simulated cheese-making process), the respective sample was removed from the water bath and subject to further fermentation at room temperature. At pH 5.1±0.5, the mixtures were transferred to a cooling room with 12° C. (simulation of cheese-making process). The next morning, the pH values were measured again.

The effect of the thermophilic Streptococcus thermophilus V3 strain on the acidification of medium in the presence or absence of the starter acidification culture Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 was tested. As shown in FIG. 2, 10% of untreated Streptococcus thermophilus V3, 10% of thermised Streptococcus thermophilus V3, 10% of neutralised Streptococcus thermophilus V3 as well as 10% of thermised and neutralised Streptococcus thermophilus V3 were able to acidify the medium to a pH of between 5.3 and 4.6 albeit not as rapidly as the starter acidification culture comprising Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 strain on its own. The cultures were incubated at 40° C. for up to 30 hours. The acidity of the medium dropped to about pH 5.1 at approximately 2.5 to 3.5 hours after inoculation (see FIG. 2).

The data presented on Table 2 shows that Streptococcus thermophilus V3 is unable to stop blocking inhibition of the acidification by the starter culture and delays the acidification by about 1.5 hours. Thus indicating that Streptococcus thermophilus V3 strain may be a potentially suitable bacterium for use in the cheese making process described herein.

TABLE 2
EPS-containing medium   reaction
untreated               very fast acidification
neutralised             delay of acidification about 20-30 min
thermised               delay of acidification about 1 h
neutralised + thermised delay of acidification about ca. 1½ h

The effect of the mesophilic Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 strain on the acidification of medium in the presence or absence of the starter acidification culture Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 was tested. As shown in FIG. 3, 10% of untreated Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322, 10% of thermised Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322, 10% of neutralised Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 as well as 10% of thermised and neutralised Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 were able to acidify the medium to a pH of between 5.3 and 4.6 albeit not as rapidly as the starter acidification culture comprising Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 strain on its own. The cultures were incubated at 40° C. for up to 30 hours. The acidity of the medium dropped to about pH 5.1 at approximately 4.5 to 6 hours after inoculation (see FIG. 3).

The data presented on Table 3 shows that Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 is able to stop the inhibition of the acidification by the starter culture. Thus indicating that Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris Lc 322 strain may be a suitable bacterium for use in the modified cheese making process described herein.

TABLE 3
EPS-containing medium reaction
untreated/ + K        acidification lower than K on pH 4.31-4.74
neutralised/ + K      delay of acidification
thermised +           no acidification,
K                     similar to K
neutralised and       no acidification
thermised + K         like K

The effect of the mesophilic Lactobacillus sakei Lb 570 strain on the acidification of a medium in the presence or absence of the starter acidification culture Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 was tested. As shown in FIG. 4, 10% of thermised Lactobacillus sakei Lb 570 viable lactic acid bacterium as well as 10% of thermised and neutralised Lactobacillus sakei Lb 570 lactic acid bacterium were able to acidify the medium to a pH of between 5.5 and 4.6 as rapidly as the starter acidification culture comprising Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 strain on its own. The cultures were incubated at 37 degrees for up to 24 hours. The acidity of the medium dropped to about pH 5.0 at approximately 4.5 hours after inoculation (see FIG. 4).

Using the same incubation conditions, untreated Lactobacillus sakei 570 strain was incubated with or without the starter acidification culture Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100. The untreated Lactobacillus sakei 570 strain delayed the acidification of the medium (see FIG. 4).

The data presented on Table 4 shows that neutralised and thermised Lactobacillus sakei 570 is capable of abolishing blocking of the acidification and also contributes for a faster acidification of the medium. Indicating that Lactobacillus sakei 570 strain is a suitable bacterium for use in cheese making. Thus by using this strain it may be possible to reduce the time of the acidification and thus potentially increase the output during cheese manufacturing.

TABLE 4
EPS-containing
medium        Reaction
untreated     minimal: 0.1-0.5 pH
              blocks K → slower acidification
neutralised + 0.1-0.7 pH
K             abolishes blocking on K, faster acidification
              than K, acidification at 13° C. to pH 4.6-4.7
thermised +   34/37° C.: 0.3-0.4 pH, 40° C.: -
K             abolishes blocking on K a little
neutralised + 34° C./37° C.: 0.4-0.6 pH, 40° C.: -
thermised + K Blocking is abolished, faster acidification

The effect of Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 strain on the acidification of a medium in the presence or absence of the starter acidification culture Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 was tested. As shown in FIG. 5, 10% of thermised Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 viable lactic acid bacterium as well as 10% of thermised and neutralised Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 lactic acid bacterium were able to acidify the medium to a pH of about 5.0 as rapidly as the starter acidification culture comprising Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100 strain on its own. The cultures were incubated at 37 degrees for up to 24 hours. The acidity of the medium dropped to about pH 5.0 at approximately 5.5 hours after inoculation (see FIG. 5).

Using the same incubation conditions, untreated mesophilic Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 strain was incubated with or without the starter acidification culture Streptococcus thermophilus TS-H 100. The untreated Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 strain delayed the acidification of the medium (see FIG. 5).

The data presented on Table 5 shows that neutralised and thermised Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 is capable of abolishing inhibition of the acidification and also contributes for a faster acidification of the medium. Indicating that Leuconostoc mesenteroides Ln 808 strain may be a suitable bacterium for use in cheese making as described herein. Thus by using this strain it may be possible to reduce the time of the acidification and thus potentially increase the output during cheese manufacturing.

TABLE 5
EPS-containing
medium        Reaction
untreated +   acisification: 34° C. 0.4 pH;
K             blocks K, slower uncomplete acidification
neutralised + acidification 34° C. 0.5-0.7 pH;
K             no blocking of K, faster acidification
              characteristic
thermised +   acidification 34° C.: 0.1-0.2; slower than
K             untreated, partly reversal
              of blocking of K
neutralised + like thermised,
thermised + K faster than K

Example 2

2. Methodology for Detecting Syneresis (See FIG. 6).

This methodology was applied for the experiments the results from which are presented in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

It was the objective to study the course of syneresis in milk used for cheese-making at temperatures of 34° C. and/or 37° C. The syneresis trials were carried out for the strains Lb and Lc at 34° C. and 37° C. C_EPS was 5% and 10%, the culture was added either without being subject to preliminary treatment or after heating.

For the examinations, the dynamic model system according to Huber et al., (2001) was applied (Huber, P., Fertsch, B., Schreiber, R. & Hinrichs, J. 2001, Dynamic model system to study the kinetics of thermally-induced syneresis of cheese curd grains. Milk Science International 56 (10): 459-552).

However, for simulating the production of soft cheese, the above method was slightly modified as follows:

• • The drained whey was placed in test tubes containing 25 ml reconstituted sweet whey each. The tubes were placed in a pre-heated incubation shaker (Modell C 25, New Brunswick Scientific Co., Inc., Edison, N.J., U.S.A.).
  • The milk (for cheese-making) was pre-fermented in 100-ml-scale and coagulated. For this purpose, 100 μl CaCl₂ solution was filled into each glass, the prepared EPS containing fermentation culture was weighed in. The milk was pre-heated to the desired temperature and weighed in, too.
    • After addition of 100 μl reference acidification culture/100 g milk, 1 min stirring.
    • Afterwards, pre-ripening for 60 min in the water bath at the respective temperature.
    • After pre-ripening, rennet was added (1:20, w/v) with a concentration of 20 ml/100 l milk (corresponds to 400 μl diluted rennet/100 g milk). After addition of rennet, 1 min stirring and further heating in the water bath until the time for cutting.
  • The coagulated gel was cut into cubes of 22 mm (corresponding to soft cheese) with a special tool. One cube each was placed in the glasses with pre-heated sweet whey and shaken at 200 rev./min at the respective temperature. The net weight m₀ of the cube was calculated. Shaking times were 5, 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min. After the respective shaking time, the test tube was removed from the shaker and the whey was poured out through an extra-fine sieve. The weight of the shaken cube m_t after the shaking time t was measured. The relative whey release (RWR) in % was calculated by means of the following formula:

$\begin{array}{cc}\mathrm{RWR}=\frac{m_0-m_t}{m_0}\times 100& \left(0.1\right)\end{array}$

A schematic representation of the methodology used to determine the relative whey separation is represented in FIG. 6.

Example 3

3. Co-Ordination of the pH Courses and the Syneresis Experiments.

The objective was to represent the experimental courses of pH and syneresis in time, as they run simultaneously while making the cheeses, in order to deduct an appropriate technology.

Lines A and B in FIG. 9 refer to cheese at a temperature of 37° C. The pH line refers to the pH course as determined by means of the method described in Example 1 and represented in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4. The syneresis curve was determined according to the method described in Example 2 and represented in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The space bracketed between lines A and B in FIG. 9 represents a shift in time that can be explained by transferring the data from FIG. 10.

Thus, first, the pre-ripening time is 60 min. Additionally there is the gel formation until cutting. The cutting time was calculated from the measured gelling point (oscillatory measurement). Calculation of cutting time=time until gelling point×4.

By way of an illustrating example: after approx. 10 to 12 min after addition of rennet, the gel formation starts=gelling point. This time multiplied by 4 equals 40 to 48 min. In total, this means 60 min pre-ripening plus time until cutting 40 min=100 min. 100 min corresponds to the shift of the RWR curve in FIG. 9 that is bracketed between lines A and B.

Example 4

4. Presentation of the Results According to FIG. 11.

We consider the RWR and the pH values as shown in FIG. 9 at a certain time. That means, we obtain values for the data (t/pH/RWR) e. g. for FIG. 9, 37° C.: t=100 min, pH ˜6.2, RWR ˜18%. Now the corresponding RWR values for a certain time are presented depending on the pH.

We obtain the presentation given in FIG. 11. It shows the representation of the pH and the curd grain syneresis during the process of cheese-making in the model experiments for the modified process. Depending on the time as shown in FIG. 9 or FIG. 10 the co-ordinate values for RWR and pH can be read.

For the production of soft cheese, the following instructions must be respected: when the curd is filled, the RWR must be about 50% and the pH must be 6.1 to 6.3.

Example 5

Low Fat Cheese with Exopolysaccharides from Lb. Sakei

Low fat cheese with 6% cheese was produced in 180 L pilot scale with a Lactobacillus Sakei culture. The Lactobacillus Sakei preferment was prepared according to the flow chart below (FIG. 12). The goal of the experiments is to develop a 6% fat cheese which has a similar texture/sensory properties as a 30+ cheese (17% fat) concerning rubbery and solubility properties.

Cheese Production.

Low fat cheese was produced according to the flowchart in FIG. 13.

The mesophilic starter is an Arla Foods Culture produced by Danisco A/S.

The project-group (9 persons) which is an untrained panel, tasted the cheeses blind (with a letter code). The cheeses were four weeks old and stored for 24 hours at 13° C. before serving. The serving order was randomised and all the cheeses were evaluated by using 6 descriptors:

• Consistency—hardness and elasticity
• Mouths feel—hardness, sticky, soluble and rubbery.

The panel leader (chairman) marked the cheeses on a line scale if all in the project-group agreed on the intensity of a perceived descriptor. The line scale had anger point from “little” to “much”. One cheese was evaluated at the time, regarding to the 6 descriptors.

Sample codes are:

• • A: Commercial cheese “Danbo” 30+ (Hjørring Dairy, Arla Foods, Denmark)
  • D: 6% fat cheese with 2.5% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment
  • H: 6% fat cheese with 1% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment
  • K: 6% fat cheese without additions

FIG. 14 shows the results from sensory evaluation of low fat cheeses

The cheeses were evaluated by sensory analysis after 5 weeks storage. The sensory profiling shows that the 6% fat cheese with 2.5% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment resembles the 30+ Danbo cheese more than it resembles the 6% fat cheese without additions. In contrast the cheese with only 1% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment highly resembles the 6% fat control cheese in sensory profile.

Especially the solubility of the 6% fat cheese was improved significantly in the cheese added 2.5% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment compared to the untreated 6% fat cheese. Accordingly, the cheese with 2.5% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment will be perceived as much more soluble (less crumbly) in the mouth as compared to the untreated 6% fat cheese. Furthermore, the addition of 2.5% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment significantly reduced rubberyness of the 6% fat cheese. Rubberyness of the 6% fat cheese with 2.5% Lb. Sakei pre-ferment was reduced to a level comparable with the commercial 30+ Danbo cheese.

According to the above results it is clear that addition of Lb. Sakei pre-ferment considerably improved the texture of low fact cheese, resulting in a less rubbery and more soluble cheese.

Each of the applications and patents mentioned in this document, and each document cited or referenced in each of the above applications and patents, including during the prosecution of each of the applications and patents (“application cited documents”) and any manufacturer's instructions or catalogues for any products cited or mentioned in each of the applications and patents and in any of the application cited documents, are hereby incorporated herein by reference. Furthermore, all documents cited in this text, and all documents cited or referenced in documents cited in this text, and any manufacturer's instructions or catalogues for any products cited or mentioned in this text, are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Various modifications and variations of the described methods and system of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the invention has been described in connection with specific preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiments. Indeed, various modifications of the described modes for carrying out the invention which are obvious to those skilled in molecular biology or related fields are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A composition suitable for forming cheese, said composition comprising a starter acidification culture and an exopolysaccharide (EPS) fermentation culture wherein said EPS culture contains a viable lactic acid micro-organism, wherein said lactic acid microorganism is capable of producing an enzyme, and wherein said enzyme is capable of producing an EPS.

2. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the starter acidification culture comprises a micro-organism that is capable of fermenting lactic acid.

3. A composition according to claim 2 wherein said starter acidification culture is a culture of a lactic acid bacterium.

4. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the viable lactic acid micro-organism of the EPS fermentation culture is a lactic acid bacterium.

5. A composition according to claim 4 wherein said viable lactic acid bacterium is selected from the group consisting of the genus Streptococcus, the genus Lactococcus, the genus Lactobacillus, and the genus Leuconostoc.

6. A composition according to claim 1 wherein said EPS production occurs separately from acidification by said starter acidification culture.

7. A composition according to claim 6 wherein the EPS is produced in situ.

8. A composition according to claim 7 wherein said EPS is produced in the presence of a suitable enzyme substrate selected from the group consisting of sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, lactose, stacchyose, raffinose and verbascose.

9. A composition according to claim 8, wherein the EPS is a hetero-EPS.

10. A composition according to claim 9, wherein the lactic acid micro-organism of the EPS fermentation culture is Streptococcus thermophilus V3.

11. A composition according to claim 9 wherein the lactic acid micro-organism is Lactococcus lactis ssp. cremoris 322.

12. A composition according to claim 7, wherein the EPS is a homo-EPS.

13. A composition according to claim 12, wherein the lactic acid micro-organism of the EPS fermentation culture can be selected from the group consisting of Lactobacillus sakei ssp., Lactobacillus plantarum ssp., Lactobacillus salivarium ssp and Leuconostoc mesenteroides ssp.

14. A composition according to claim 13, wherein the lactic acid bacterium of the EPS fermentation culture is Lactobacillus sakei 570.

15. A composition according to claim 13, wherein the lactic acid bacterium of the EPS fermentation culture is Leuconostoc mesenteroides 808.

16. Use of a composition to prepare a cheese product wherein the composition comprises a starter acidification culture and an EPS fermentation culture wherein said EPS fermentation culture contains a viable lactic acid micro-organism, wherein said lactic acid micro-organism is capable of producing an enzyme, and wherein said enzyme is capable of producing an EPS.

17. A cheese product prepared by using the composition according to claim 1.

18. A cheese product according to claim 17 wherein the cheese product is a soft cheese product.

19. A cheese product according to claim 18 wherein said EPS is capable of modulating the moisture level of said product.

20. A cheese product according to claim 19 wherein the target moisture is capable of being achieved by optimising whey release during curd processing.

21. A cheese product according to claim 17 wherein said EPS increases the stability and/or elasticity of said curd.

22. A cheese product according to claim 21 wherein the curd exhibits greater resilience to physical manipulations.

23. A cheese product according to claim 22 wherein said curd is capable of being manipulated with conventional curd manipulating equipment.

24. A cheese product according to claim 17 wherein said EPS is capable of forming a cheese curd containing about 50% moisture level.

25. A cheese product according to claim 24, wherein said curd has less than 5% loss in moisture during ripening to a cheese product.

26. A cheese product according to claim 17 wherein said EPS is capable of improving at least one of the texture, aroma, flavour, mildness, consistency, body, mouth feel, firmness, viscosity, gel fracture, wheying off, syneresis, structure and/or organoleptic properties, nutrition and/or health benefits of the cheese product.

27. A method for forming a cheese the method comprising admixing a composition with a medium suitable for forming cheese so as to form a cheese curd containing about 50% moisture and wherein during ripening of the cheese product less than about 5% moisture is lost; wherein the composition is a composition according to claim 1.

28. A cheese product obtained according to the method of claim 27.

29. Use of a composition according to claim 1 to modulate the microbial balance of the gastrointestinal tract after consumption of said cheese product.

30. A process for in situ production of an EPS comprising the steps of: providing a composition according to claim 1,permitting growth of said micro-organism so as to produce the EPS, andoptionally isolating said EPS.

31. A process according to claim 30 wherein said EPS is a homo-EPS.

32. A process according to claim 30 wherein the micro-organism is Lactobacillus sakei 570.

33. Use of an EPS produced by the process of claim 30 for modulating the moisture content of a cheese product.

34. Use of EPS in the manufacture of a cheese product wherein said. EPS is capable of improving at least one of the texture, aroma, flavour, mildness, consistency, body, mouth feel, firmness, viscosity, gel fracture, wheying off, syneresis, structure and/or organoleptic properties, nutrition and/or health benefits of the cheese product.

35. Use of EPS produced by the process of claim 30 for modulating the texture of a cheese product.

36. Use of EPS produced by the process of claim 30 for improving the texture of a low fat cheese product.

37. A culture of Lactobacillus sakei deposited as DSM 15889.

38. A cheese product, a method, a process, or a use substantially as described herein.